Egg imports won’t harm farmers – BAS

The Barbados Agricultural Society’s (BAS) plans to import 600 000 eggs to address a current shortage should not push small farmers out of business, the BAS head said Thursday. 

Chief executive officer James Paul attributed a shortage to soaring demand from the booming tourism industry, particularly cruise ships seeking more affordable domestic eggs compared to the United States.

“We currently have eggs being produced in Barbados, and I want to make that very clear,” he told Barbados TODAY. “The challenge that we face right now is that the demand for eggs is stripping the supply of eggs and we are seeing demand coming from areas that we did not see before. Therefore we have to respond,” he said, pointing to increased demand from cruise ships.

“We are seeing opportunities for the supply arising from the cruise ships. We’re getting a lot of cruise ships coming and what’s happening when it comes to the cruise ships is that a lot of them are looking to buy eggs here. Why? Because of the fact that the prices of eggs in Barbados [have] not adjusted as much to the current shortage that you have in the United States.

“As a matter of fact, in the United States right now, people might not be aware, but the price of eggs has gone up significantly. In some cases, the ordinary American is paying more for a dozen eggs than we are paying in Barbados.”  

Paul said that unlike poultry meat, which can be scaled up more quickly, egg production requires significant time, as layers take six months to mature before producing eggs. It was this that prompted the decision to import 600 000 eggs to address the scarcity, he added.

The H5N1 bird-flu pandemic in the US has raised poultry prices there to a 45-year high and at least one person has died from the disease, which causes severe respiratory illnesses.

Paul added that Barbadian egg producers are trying to ramp up production with expectations of increased layer placements later this year.

He said: “You don’t wake up and decide that you’re going to grow a layer, a layer takes six months from the time it is born before it gives an egg. So it is not something that we can respond to the market instantaneously.

“If there are current challenges in terms of eggs it is not something that the industry created or even with good planning that we could have avoided. It is just that we are seeing an increase in demand and we are going to respond [to the shortage]. But I hope that certain persons do not see this as an opportunity to create an excuse for constant importation of eggs into this country because the industry will respond.

“I’m sure this year we should see an increase in the placements of layer eggs, which of course, once they hatch they will be available to the public in another six months.”

Paul said the BAS would be closely monitoring the importation to prevent market disruptions, stressing that any imported eggs would be regulated to avoid harming local producers.

“If we have to import, again, we want to do so in a responsible manner and the BAS will of course play a key role in terms of trying to ensure that those quantities of eggs that are being imported into this country do not turn up to work against our producers in the industry because you know we have to be careful, everybody has to make a living. Everyone, every individual has to make a living, and we don’t want the importation of eggs to be done in such a manner that it compromises the ability of individuals, small producer or large producer, to be able to make a living in this country.”

The BAS boss also said he was cautious about overextending supply, which could leave local producers vulnerable if international demand suddenly shifts.

“What we don’t want is that when the Americans get their act together, all of a sudden they tell us ‘no we’re sorry, we don’t want to take from you’. What are we going to do with all of that excess capacity that is there? These are things that we’re looking at. We want a sensible development of the industry therefore in which more and more Barbadians are able to participate and make a livelihood for their families.” (SZB)