Some amount of hyperbole is to be expected in national conversations, especially as an election draws near. As the most important poll in eight years starts to crest over the horizon, aggrievement and aggrandizement seem to have gone into overdrive — and about eggs, no less.
The issue began earlier this year, when an egg shortage sweeping the rest of the world caught up with Taiwan. The causes were manifold, as they often are, led by a global bird flu pandemic that devastated populations of egg-laying hens, cold weather affecting production, and material prices raising feed and energy costs for farmers. These factors pushed egg prices up from NT$23.5 (US$0.73) per 600g in 2021 to NT$45.5 in March, triggering scarcity fears that inevitably led to hoarding.
The government responded with a special import program, ultimately shipping 145 million eggs from Brazil and six other nations between March and July, and fixing prices slightly higher to stop them from inflating even further. It also earmarked NT$3.3 billion over three years to modernize the domestic egg industry and boost local production, with an eye on ensuring that the nation is never again affected by the vicissitudes of global production. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Agriculture said that Taiwan should be egg self-sufficient by November. Yet most people have not heard all this good news, as it has been buried by an avalanche of controversy.
Opposition politicians have called countless news conferences to lambast the government for a number of issues, including the destruction of 37 percent of the imports after they expired, improper labeling and the discovery of banned substance residues in eggs from Brazil. The criticisms included unsubstantiated accusations that expired eggs had been sold in supermarkets and that import contracts had been granted as political favors.
In response, the Food and Drug Administration and local governments have expanded inspections of egg processing factories, finding a few infractions, but nothing of substantive concern (despite what some politicians might say). Even the unfortunate destruction of expired imports is not unusual, as 37 percent is on par with the US Department of Agriculture’s estimated food waste of 30 to 40 percent.
Weeks of political furor culminated last week in the resignation of former minister of agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), pushing out an official who has served as either deputy head or head of agriculture in Taiwan since 2016.
Still, politicians remain reticent to drop the issue, seeing how politically useful it has been. Now that the public has been steeped in fears of food safety, demand for domestically produced eggs has skyrocketed amid distrust of imports. Due to this, egg prices are to rise again this week to NT$55 per 600g from NT$53 for retail consumers and to NT$45.5 from NT$43.5 at last production sites, according to the Taipei Egg Retailers’ Association, which also expects the egg shortage and price hikes to worsen throughout the rest of the year due in part to decreased consumption of imports.
Thanks to the circus manufactured by political opportunists, the egg woes of months past are making a comeback.
This is not to say that issues raised by politicians are invalid. Heavier scrutiny in the name of food safety and holding elected officials accountable is always welcome. Yet when controversy eclipses real issues, it distorts the truth even further, creating the kind of reactionary backsliding that leaves everyone worse off.
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