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Indian eggs have never exported so well. And if the trade is flourishing, it is largely due to the lack of eggs elsewhere, and in particular in Malaysia.
Traditionally, the main buyers of Indian eggs are Oman, the Maldives and Qatar, according to information provided by Itavi, the technical institute for poultry farming, fish farming and rabbit farming in France. But the price of animal feed having soared, small farms in several countries have reduced their activity. This is the case in Malaysia, the country woke up last November with a deficit of 157 million eggs.
A shortage that caused prices to soar locally, and led the country to knock on the door of the Indian giant: 5 million eggs arrived from India in December, 10 million were expected in January, and 15 million in February.
Demand from Malaysia added to that of other troubled countries boosted Indian exports. Excluding the month of December, the data for which is not yet available, exports increased by 85%. For this month of January alone, they should amount to 50 million eggs, or about 3,000 tonnes.
The other side of the coin is the increase in the price of eggs in India. Because if exports have increased, local consumption remains strong. India is no exception, farms there have also reduced their production for reasons of inflation.
A tight global market
These new flows in Asia are part of a tense global context: the increase in production costs, but also the avian flu have reduced the availability of shell eggs. To this, we must add players who will buy more this year on the market: this is particularly the case of New Zealand: production has reportedly fallen by at least 10% since the entry into force of the ban. to raise hens in cages on 1is January.
Unforeseen consequence of this measure, the New Zealanders who feel the soul of farmers have stormed the auction sites of hens, to ensure their personal production. To the chagrin of animal rights defenders in the country who remind us that hens should not be considered as “laying machines”.