The Department of Livestock says there is currently no import of eggs in the country. This is amid claims by poultry farmers that imported eggs are still found aplenty in the market. The department mentioned that the Bhutan Livestock Development Corporation or the BLDC imported only two trips of eggs in February and March to stabilise the price of eggs in the market. Farmers across the country are currently facing marketing issues amid falling egg prices.
The Tsirang Poultry Cooperative wrote to the Livestock Department last month seeking intervention for marketing issues and the need to stop the supposedly ongoing egg import.
The Cooperative claims that farmers are selling eggs at a loss of over Nu 600 per carton to retailers in Thimphu. Farmers say the availability of imported eggs coupled with soaring feed and fuel prices are affecting the sale of local eggs.
“We have just asked the government if they are still importing the eggs. If the government could import eggs within a week when there is egg shortage, why couldn’t the government export the excess eggs which would have already solved the problem?” said Hom Nath Thapa, who works as an Accountant for the Tsirang Poultry Cooperative.
Meanwhile, farmers are still recovering from last year’s incident when thousands of birds died mysteriously. The cause could not be confirmed despite samples being sent abroad for laboratory testing.
With egg prices hitting an all-time low and feed prices escalating, farmers are finding it difficult to meet their farms’ operational costs. Today, a bag of feed costs around Nu 2,300, an increase of about Nu 500. However, egg prices have fallen by almost the same margin.
“I am selling my poultry farm. We couldn’t regain full production capacity after the Feeds issue. With feed prices increasing and egg prices falling, we have been having a difficult time,” said Nima Zam, a Poultry farmer from Gaytsa under Chhumey Gewog in Bumthang.
Sonam Penjor, who runs a poultry business called the Egg Store Farm in Monggar is also facing a similar situation.
“Though my farm is located just above the national highway, I can hardly sell a tray of eggs a day. In the past, the situation was better.”
Likewise, in Zhemgang, for the past few weeks, some 26 cartons of eggs from Berti have been lying at a farm shop in Tingitbi without buyers. Farmers said a few cartons had already rotted.
“These days, forget about fetching 450 per tray of eggs like before, we are struggling to get even Nu 200 per tray. Maybe supply from Gelephu and other dzongkhags may have flooded the market,” said Pema Choden who runs Raudam Poultry farm in Trong Gewog of Zhemgang.
“We are told to cut down our price at the rate of Nu 7 to 8 per egg by the buyers and that is not profitable for us,” said Yeshi Dema who runs Berti Poultry Farm.
“We are struggling to sell our eggs. It has become difficult to buy feed for the birds. We cannot even repay our loan,” said another poultry farmer, Ugyen Wangmo.
The Livestock Department in a response letter last week stated that egg prices could be falling due to the impact of the pandemic on the tourism and the construction sectors. They are the biggest consumers of eggs in the country. The department also claimed that no private firm has imported eggs illegally as claimed by the farmers.
A notification was also issued last Friday requesting farmers to report illegal imports to the department or BAFRA officials. The department and relevant agencies are also exploring export options and value addition of eggs to address the market crisis in the future.
There are around 22,000 poultry farmers across the country according to the 2021 Livestock Census.
Bureau Reports
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
