To address a nationwide egg shortage, the Council of Agriculture (COA) plans to expedite the movement of eggs between sales channels, increase egg and chick imports, and help chicken farmers improve their facilities, a proposal by the council has shown.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the COA are on Wednesday to report to the legislature’s Economics Committee on their measures to address the egg shortage, which has caused egg prices to increase.
The COA in its written proposal to the committee said the nation’s egg production has not recovered as expected, due to wide differences between daytime and night temperatures, a bird flu outbreak and a high number of molting hens.
Photo: Su Fu-nan, Taipei Times
The nation has about 31 million egg-laying hens, but egg production has been depressed due to low temperatures and the bird flu outbreak, the results of a survey conducted by the Poultry Association of the Republic of China showed.
Furthermore, chicken farms house many aged hens that produce fewer eggs, while the number of molting hens has increased since the Lunar New Year holiday, resulting in a daily egg production of about 112,000 crates, the COA said.
The COA said it has helped breeder chicken farms import chicks, increasing the number from about 230,000 to 260,000 last year, adding that 300,000 more would be imported this year to accelerate the replacement of aged hens.
The nation’s total supply of chicks was about 22.63 million last year, which is about 13.7 percent higher than the previous year, it said.
The supply of chicks has been stable, but the supply of egg-laying hens has not yet recovered, the council said.
The COA said it would coordinate egg shipments between wholesalers, egg processors, transporters and dealers to address shortages at convenience stores, supermarkets, retailers, traditional markets and restaurants.
It is to import at least 5 million eggs by the end of next month to be used in processed food.
The COA said it would also launch an egg cold chain project to provide subsidies to egg transporters and processors to install refrigerators or purchase refrigerated vehicles to enhance their shipment capabilities.
It would help chicken farmers improve poultry houses, such as by replacing open-air chicken houses with closed ones or those with wet-pad cooling systems, to reduce the impact of drastic temperature swings and prevent the spread of bird flu.
The council would offer bonuses for breeding young hens to accelerate the replacement of aged egg-laying hens, and improve egg production capacity and egg quality, it said, adding that it would continue to import breeder hens, as well as increase breeder chick imports if needed.
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