[Animals] Only 5% of egg-laying hens have been affected by the flu

[FNX Magokiler]

The Ministry of Agriculture and egg producers highlighted this Monday that the impact of avian influenza on the industry has been limited, so that it should not result in large price increases.

"The drop in egg production is quite limited: we are talking about 5 percent of the mass of hens that has been affected up to now," said the manager of Chile Huevos, Patricio Kurte, at a joint press point. with industry authorities.

"The farms that have been affected are, fundamentally, in the Biobío and Maule Region, so the drop in production there is a little higher than in the rest of the country. However, the eggs are traded nationwide, Therefore, the eggs from the central zone reach the southern region. So, we can ensure that there is a practically normal supply," Kurte emphasized.

In Chile "there are 12 thousand producers of hens with eggs and we have only had 105 (producers) affected, with 10 thousand birds dead. Meanwhile, in the laying industry there are 700 thousand birds affected. For this reason, we are rigorously reinforcing control and the supervision of the biosecurity measures of said industry, to have this strategic security," said Minister Esteban Valenzuela.

 

 

"Let's avoid unnecessary alarms based on specific news," emphasized the Secretary of State, who acknowledged that "the price of eggs has grown by 35 percent in the last year," but explained that "the price has been key in this of corn, which was at 180-200 pesos in 2022 and reached 350 pesos".

"That caused some egg companies to go bankrupt, but despite this, there are 230 medium and large companies (producers). According to our data, only 5 percent - which is not irrelevant anyway - have been affected, especially in Florida, in Biobío, and important flocks of laying birds in Talca," said Valenzuela.

The Office of Agrarian Studies and Policies (Odepa) indicated, for its part, that in the last four weeks there have been no major price variations. In supermarkets, in fact, there has been a drop in the price of a 12-unit tray: -2.2 percent for white eggs and -1.5 percent for colored eggs.

"The main price increases occur in the Metropolitan Region; this is not a situation that affects the different regions in the same way; in fact, in recent weeks we have observed drops in the Valparaíso and Biobío regions," said the national director from Odepa, Andrea Garcia.

 

https://www.cooperativa.cl/noticias/pais/salud/alimentos/solo-el-5-de-las-gallinas-ponedoras-de-huevos-han-sido-afectadas-por-la/2023-04-24/180007.html