Taiwan, China egg shortage causes prices to soar. What is going on with the most expensive eggs?
An egg shortage has emerged in Taiwan, China. What is going on? Would you like to know?
The Executive Yuan and the Council of Agriculture recently held discussions to import eggs to make up the current daily shortfall of 1 million eggs. Chen Chi-chung, head of the Council of Agriculture, said on the 14th that about 1.4 million eggs would be imported from the United States and Japan on February 23 and 27. Since talks have already been completed with liquid egg, pastry and other processing businesses, during this period refrigerated stock eggs will first be supplied to retail channels and snack shops in the Greater Taipei area. Because imported eggs are somewhat more expensive than domestic ones, they will be given first to processing businesses at that time, and the Council of Agriculture will help handle the price difference and losses in between.
According to Council of Agriculture statistics, there is currently a daily egg shortfall ranging from about 2,000 boxes to 5,000 boxes (1 box holds 200 eggs, about 400,000 to 1 million eggs). Chen Chi-chung said that this week there is a shortfall of about 2,000 boxes per day, and next week it is estimated to increase to 4,000 boxes. Because processing businesses are more flexible in their use of eggs than ordinary breakfast shops and consumers, in the past two days they first held a meeting with the top ten egg processing businesses to discuss and work out releasing refrigerated stock eggs first to supplement livelihood demand in the Greater Taipei area.
The Council of Agriculture will then use an "eggs for eggs" method to supply imported eggs to processing businesses. What is "eggs for eggs"? Chen Chi-chung explained that the Central Livestock Association has already been commissioned to communicate with traders, and on February 23 and 27, 7 containers, about 1.4 million eggs, will be imported from the United States and Japan respectively.
Because of different regions, imported eggs including tariffs average about 55 to 65 yuan per Taiwanese catty, which converts to an average of 3.7 to 4 yuan each, slightly higher than domestic egg prices. In order to ensure that the price of livelihood eggs is not affected by imports, these eggs will be supplied first to processing businesses. Simply put, if during this period an A liquid egg factory helps release 2,000 boxes of eggs, after the imported eggs arrive the Council of Agriculture will give them back to the business. As for the price difference or losses in between, Chen Chi-chung admitted that they will help resolve them.
The Council of Agriculture estimates that because more than 1 million laying hens have already been put into coops in January and will begin producing next month, it is expected that by the end of March egg production across Taiwan, China will gradually stabilize, maintaining a level of 105,000 boxes supplied per day.