News in brief: Taiwan raises egg prices to cover rising production costs and meet growing demand, following a recent price drop aimed at boosting consumption and supporting local producers.
The government of Taiwan has announced an upward review of prices of eggs in that country in a bid to cover production costs, according to a local news outlet.
Taiwanâs Ministry of Agriculture made the revelation after meeting with a special committee charged with evaluating egg prices in the country. The increment came into full effect on Monday, 4 September 2023.
Standard retail price of eggs in Taiwan now stands at NT$53(US$1.66) per catty while standard wholesale price will rise to NT$43.5 (US$1.36).
Besides costs of producing eggs rising, the country is also witnessing an increasing appetite for egg consumption as well.
The move comes just a few months after egg prices fell in June 2023, to NT$40.5 per catty (US$1.26), as the government aimed to boost consumption and assist local egg producers recover losses caused by egg shortages and increases in production costs incurred earlier in the year.
Taiwanâs has an estimated 33.59 million egg producing birds and boasts a daily egg production of close to 22.9 million eggs. The Agriculture Ministry notes that egg production has stabilised in the light of increasing demand, but is yet to reach its previous capacity.
Agriculture has been an important sector of Taiwanese life since ages ago. Even though the country is not a leading exporter of eggs, unlike China, Indonesia and others, it still has a considerable share of global poultry markets.
Taiwan is not the only country whose poultry industry is being shaken up in 2023. Nigerian poultry farmers have been lamenting about the rising cost of inputs as corn prices in the country shot up. In the United States, the avian flu reduced the number of birds and affected egg supplies and increased costs.
