Looks like the Egg shortages have been greatly exaggerated.
At least if Caribbean Broilers Group's Corporate Affairs
Manager, Dr Keith Amiel, and JEFA (Jamaica Egg Farmers Association) president,
Roy Baker are to be believed as report in the article “No
Shortage Of Eggs For Christmas”, published Wednesday October 28, 2015 by
Tameka Gordon, The Jamaica Gleaner.
According to them, the Egg Industry is in recovery mode from
the shortages that plague the Industry in 2014 which was a spillover from 2013
as noted in my blog
article entitled “Egg
Shortage in Jamaica set to continue to March 2014 - Poor Agricultural Planning
to blame as Cheap Meat shortages forcing many to become Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians”.
Back then I'd concluded it was because Jamaica were
switching to Eggs as a meat substitute, as the shortage seem too protracted to
be just due to increase Christmas Cooking.
The shortage may have also been due to increase demand for
Liquefied Eggs form the hotel Sector, who at one point contemplated increased
importation of Eggs as noted in my blog article entitled
“CPJ's
Liquid Eggs Limited Jamaican Egg Shortage - How Imported Eggs from Hampton
Creek Foods may alleviate Egg Shortage in December 2014”.
But the spread of H5N2 Virus aka Avian Flu has pretty much killed
those plans for the rest of 2015 as noted in my blog article
entitled “Ministry
of Agriculture bans US, Canadian Chicken Products - Why H5N2 Avian Flu is
Shadows of 2014 Chicken Shortage during Easter 2015”.
So what is the Egg Industry doing to temper this shortage
and the upcoming demand in December 2015?
Jamaica Broilers
Group and Caribbean Broilers boost Egg Supply for Christmas 2015 - Why Egg Glut
is still a possibility
Now it seems a new strategy is now in place as Caribbean
Broilers Group's Corporate Affairs Manager, Dr Keith Amiel explains, quote:
“The new layers that would have been put into production between May and June
would have started laying 22 weeks [prior] and peaked 30 weeks later
deliberately, so as to have a large quantity of Eggs from now going into
Christmas”.
To explain this, one has to look at the numbers. Both the
Jamaica Broilers Group and Caribbean Broilers have supplied egg-laying pullets
(chickens specifically for egg laying) to local Egg Farmers between May and
June of 2015 as follows:
1. 150,000
pullets from Jamaica Broilers Group
2. 60,000
pullets from Caribbean Broilers
As of October 2015 Production is now up as follows:
1. 1
million dozen Eggs monthly
2. 12
million dozen Eggs yearly
At this rate of production, 2015 will see record levels not
seen since 2012:
1. 141
million dozen Eggs produced for 2015
2. 125
million dozen Eggs produced for 2014
3. 13%
increase in egg production for 2015 compared to 2014
According to the JEFA president, Roy Baker, the last time
the Egg Industry saw such numbers was during the Egg Glut of 2012, quote: “The
last time that we have produced more that 141 million Eggs was about eight
years ago, with the exception of 2012 when we had that terrible glut”.
So what about the rest of the Caribbean so as to avoid a
glut?
Jamaica exporting Eggs
to Barbados and Trinidad - H5N2 Avian Flu in USA and Canada boosting Caribbean
Christmas Market
Turns out they're way ahead on that front!
Jamaica is making so many Eggs, that Liquefied Egg
Production may soon be revived. Already, exports to Caribbean territories
demanding Jamaicans Eggs ha increased:
1. 60,000
dozen Eggs to Trinidad by the JEFA
2. 5
trailers to Barbados and Trinidad by Caribbean Broilers
All thanks to H5N2 Avian Flu which means that chicken and
Egg products from these countries are band for importation by these Caribbean
Nations as well as hinted in my blog article
entitled
Egg Farmers now have to decide how to price their Eggs once
December 2015 rolls around, as demand may be fairly high due to increased usage
of Eggs not only by Jamaica but by the Caribbean as well!
Currently the prices for Eggs are as follows:
1. JA$220
to JA$235 per dozen at the Farm Gate
2. JA$235
to JA$250 per dozen for Branded Eggs
Hopefully too, this'll mean not only Liquefied Eggs for the
Hotel Industry, but also enough to prevent Eggs thrown away in the Riverton
City Dump being sold and potentially creating a Salmonella scare as reported in
my blog article
entitled “SERHA
warns of Salmonella laced Eggs - Why Salmonella Poisoning on the Rise as Egg
and Meat Shortage loom”.
Eggs may no longer be in Shortage as we have enough to feed
the Caribbean.....at least until the Caribbean starts producing their own Eggs
again!
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