Locally produced eggs are becoming smaller due to El Niño—Egg board
Apart from agriculture, El Niño is also affecting the poultry industry as chickens produce fewer and smaller eggs due to intense heat.
Francis Uyehara, president of the Philippine Egg Board Association, shared that the heat has been the cause of weak appetites of chickens, which resulted in producing smaller eggs.
“Number one ang malaking epekto ng sobrang init ay ‘yung paghina ng pagkain ng ating mga alagang manok, ang resulta po nito ay ang pagbaba ng egg production at ‘yung significant pagliit ng sizes,” Uyehara said in his interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Thursday, April 18.
He added that the distribution of egg sizes has been imbalanced as there has been a surplus of smaller eggs and fewer larger eggs produced.
Due to the excess of supply and less demand, this pushed poultry farmers to sell smaller eggs at a lower price, which started in late January.
On the other hand, medium-sized eggs are currently at their standard price of P4.50-P5.40 per piece, depending on the area. While there has been a significant price drop in smaller egg sizes, Uyehara assured the public that the cost of large and extra-large sizes remains as is.
He also noted the drop in egg consumption, saying that the lack of events and irregular school days during the hot season contributed to the imbalance.
He also warned that chicken mortality also increased due to the intense heat.
Uyehara said that the current dilemmas brought by El Niño have been generally affecting the industry, but it is more evident in the northern part of the country.
“Generally po ‘yung pangkahalatan [na farm producer] nakakaranas na po ng epekto nitong sobrang init. Pero kapansin pansin po ‘yung init sa norte kaysa po sa bandang south,” he said.
Despite this, Uyehara assured that the problem of smaller sizes being produced does not affect the eggs’ nutritional value.
To counter the problem, Uyehara said that there is a need to seek help from nutritionists to modify the formulation of the feeds, like incorporating electrolytes and other supplements, as well as adding big industrial fans to improve air circulation in farms.
He also clarified that egg sizes are based on their weight, not on appearance.