(Photo/PCO)
By Katrina Gracia Consebido
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. tasked on Tuesday, Jan. 24, Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban to meet with egg producers and traders to determine why chicken egg prices have increased in the recent weeks amid sufficient supply.
Marcos gave the order during a Cabinet meeting as the government seeks to boost agricultural productivity and make nutritious food affordable.
The President has asked why egg prices have risen recently, noting the widening gap between farm gate and retail prices.
“We determined that the increase in the price of eggs is not commensurate to the increase in production cost,” Marcos said.
“So we will have to have a look to see how to control that because we cannot explain almost one-half of the profit margin that we are seeing. We cannot attribute it to cost,” he added.
Based on DA’s price watch, eggs were reportedly selling for P9.00 per medium-sized egg from P6.90 in December 2022, which should sell for P7.00 to P7.50 each.
The DA ordered the Price and Volume Watch Committee and Advisory Groups for Livestock and Poultry to monitor egg prices nationwide.
In an interview on Jan. 14, DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista said the agency is eliminating “certain layers of traders” to lower chicken egg prices.
“We are coordinating with [Philippine] Egg Board also to see the supply situation, and if there are bottlenecks,” Evangelista said.
“Right now, what we are doing also is to eliminate certain layers of traders because that will also bring down the price,” she added.
“Hopefully, mas maganda ang production also of the eggs. These are some challenges that our egg producers are faced with that [are] now being addressed by our Bureau of Animal Industry,” she continued. – gb
