THE El Niño phenomenon isn’t just drying up water sources and driving up global temperatures, it is also affecting egg production in the country, the Philippine Egg Board Association said yesterday.
Egg Board president Francis Uyehura said the intense heat has led to reduced appetites for chickens, which result in fewer and smaller eggs.
“Generally, lahat ng farm producer ay nakakaranas na ng problema sa sobrang init. Number one na epekto ng sobrang init ay ‘yung paghina ng pagkain ng manok na resulta ng pagbaba ng egg production at pagliit ng sizes. Nagkakaroon ng imbalance, mas marami ‘yung maliliit,” he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.
Uyehera warned that chicken mortality has gone up as a result of the extreme heat, which is more pronounced in the northern part of the country.
“The intense heat will not have an effect on the nutritional value of the egg, the problem is the eggs are getting smaller. If before, farmers are getting large or extra large eggs, now there are more small or even extra small eggs,” he said.
Poultry farmers are now facing a surplus of smaller size eggs, which are now being sold at lower prices.
He noted egg consumption has also dropped due to lack of events during the hot months as well as the rise in number of cancelled school days because of the heat.
Medium-sized eggs are currently benchmarked at P4.50 to P5.40 per piece, depending on the area, Uyehura said.
He pointed out that small eggs may be classified as medium because eggs are graded by weight.
“Kaya meron itlog na maliit pero mabigat at malaki na itlog pero magaan,” he said. (ABS-CBN News)
