《TAIPEI TIMES》 Egg prices increase as schools boost demand

CAUSES: As schools open and typhoons approach, the demand for eggs increased, but authorities are watching the situation for readjustments, a cooperative head said

By Tung Chen-kuo / Staff reporter, with CNA

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Egg prices are to be raised by NT$3 per Taiwanese jin （600g） today to farm gate price of NT$43.5 and a wholesale price of NT$53, in response to increased demand for school lunches and high costs of chicken feed, the Poultry Association’s production and marketing supervision committee said yesterday.

The committee held a meeting yesterday and decided to raise egg prices by NT$3 per Taiwanese jin starting from today. This is the first price increase after prices dropped twice since mid-June.

Taiwan Egg Marketing Cooperative head Wu Tien-fu （吳天福） said the demand for eggs has increased with schools starting, and the price of chicken feed has been high, which is why egg prices were raised.

Any readjustments would depend on actual production, sales and hen restocking, Wu said.

Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry Department deputy director Lee Yi-chien （李宜謙） said the ministry respects the decision.

In addition to the school lunch demand, people might also be hoarding eggs as typhoons approach, he said.

According to the ministry’s statistics, there are 33.59 million hens producing eggs in Taiwan, and the daily production has gone up to about 114,500 crates （about 200 eggs per create）.

However, domestic demand for eggs is about 120,000 crates per day, which is slightly more than domestic production.

Lee said the ministry has about 60 million imported eggs in storage that can be traded for fresh domestic eggs from food processing manufacturers so that local consumers can buy fresh eggs.

In related news, Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin （徐巧芯） yesterday said about 84,000kg of eggs imported from Brazil by Ultra Source Ltd — a company the party last week accused of colluding with the government to exploit subsidies on imported eggs — were found to contain the antibiotics florfenicol and chloramphenicol residues at concentration levels of 0.021 parts per million （ppm） and 0.008ppm respectively.

Hsu said the government is “murdering for money.”

In response, the Food and Drug Administration （FDA） yesterday afternoon said its inspections on imported eggs showed that among 75 batches of eggs imported from Brazil this year, as of last month, only one batch tested positive for antibiotic residue, and all 83.8 tonnes were returned without entering the domestic market.

FDA Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu （林金富） said the batch of eggs failed the inspection because residues of florfenicol （0.021ppm） and chloramphenicol （0.008ppm） were found although they are not allowed to be used on chickens.

Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung （陳吉仲） yesterday said there are tight border inspections on imported eggs, and only products meeting all requirements can enter domestic market.

The ministry might take legal action about false accusations involving food safety or profiteering from imported eggs, he said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES