Minister Promises More Imported Eggs Coming 陳吉仲:4-5月回暖 進口雞蛋擴至三千萬顆

Eggs continue to remain in short supply across Taiwan. The wholesale price has skyrocketed to NT$55 per catty. Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said imports will be further increased to 30 million eggs in April and May as the weather warms up. The Council of Agriculture will also expand its cold chain inventory tenfold to reduce any year-end impact.

“One catty of white eggs costs NT$80 today, alright? It's NT$5 cheaper today.”A common sight across Taiwan in recent weeks has been long lines of people waiting to buy eggs. The wholesale price has skyrocketed to NT$55 per catty, the highest price in history. However, the actual price at markets is around NT$80. Even though eggs are much more expensive than before, the supply is still unable to meet the demand. Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung promised a minimum of five million eggs will be imported before the end of March. The import volume will be increased once the weather warms up in April and May.

Chen Chi-chung, Agriculture Minister: “At least over 30 million eggs will come in to make up for this short-term shortage.”

Chen headed to the legislature on March 22 to give a report. He promised that huge amounts of eggs will be imported and that they won't affect origin prices. Some regions will get priority in the distribution.

Chen Chi-chung, Agriculture Minister: “Actually, we want to send them to the north.”

The Council of Agriculture said the domestic production capacity is progressively increasing and the number of laying hens will reach 31.5 million this week, an increase of 590,000 compared to last week. Meanwhile, DPP legislators expressed concerns over hoarding. They said many people are showing off their egg hoards on social media, including photos of iron eggs and stewed eggs, while blasting the government for its incompetence.

Chiu Yi-ying, Legislator (DPP): “Hoarding is very unwise, because eggs have an expiration date and will spoil.”
Chen Chi-chung, Agriculture Minister: “I think this issue will be resolved because now egg supply procedures have become more stable.”

It's still unknown if people are hoarding eggs and causing shortages. Nevertheless, the COA is expanding its cold chain inventory to reduce any possible year-end impact. It will increase the inventory by tenfold from the 30,000 cartons in 2022.

「今天一斤白蛋賣80，好不好，今天有便宜5塊。」民眾大排長龍買蛋，批發價格每台斤漲到55元的史上最高價。但實際到市場買蛋，零售蛋價直接衝到80元，就算變貴仍供不應求。為此農委會主委陳吉仲除了重申3月底前會進口至少500萬顆，天氣回暖後的4、5月，進口量更是倍增。

農委會主委陳吉仲表示：「至少都會超過3000萬顆以上的雞蛋進來，來彌補這個短期不足的部分。」

上午到立院經委會業務報告的陳吉仲，掛保證大量進口雞蛋，不影響產地價格，殼蛋直接進入通路，有優先調配的區域，尤其調往北部。農委會指出，國內產能逐步回升，這週蛋雞數量來到3150萬隻，比上週增加59萬隻。不過執政黨立委指出，社群媒體出現不少民眾囤蛋，做成大量鐵蛋、滷蛋的照片，再罵政府買不到雞蛋，質疑囤蛋現象嚴重。

民進黨立委邱議瑩認為：「囤蛋這件事情是非常不智的，因為雞蛋有保存期限，它會壞掉。」

農委會主委陳吉仲表示：「雞蛋現在的供應秩序讓它更穩定，我想這件事情就可以來解決。」

是不是囤蛋導致供應緊縮，還有待釐清；不過農委會則打算要擴大雞蛋的冷鏈庫存。陳吉仲說明，面對年底可能會有更大的衝擊，去（2022）年庫存3萬箱雞蛋，今年要再增加10倍，相信對年底的調度更有幫助。