TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said Tuesday that multiple factors are driving the decline in Taiwan’s egg production, including cold weather, molting, and unforeseen incidents such as power outages that cause ventilation failures and suffocate chickens.
Egg production has decreased from an oversupply of 127,000 cartons in mid-February to 123,000 cartons. This production level is nearing the average demand of approximately 120,000 cartons, per CNA.
Concerns are rising about a sharp decrease in daily egg production, leading to speculation of a severe bird flu outbreak. The outbreak is suspected of causing chicken deaths and reduced production, with some farms potentially failing to report the problem.
Agency Director Hsu Jung-pin (徐榮彬) said such claims cannot be made without solid evidence. Investigations have found no confirmed cases of unreported abnormal poultry deaths linked to bird flu.
Factors such as cold weather leading to fewer eggs being laid, molting, and fasting, as well as poor farm management practices, are contributing to the decline. For instance, rats chewing through wires can lead to power outages and ventilation failures that suffocate chickens.
Hsu added that the issue is not limited to poultry farms, as similar incidents have occurred at pig farms.
Regarding unreported poultry deaths, Hsu stated that all poultry and livestock deaths are sent to rendering plants. If mortality rates exceed monitoring thresholds, an abnormal death is flagged, and sampling and testing are conducted.
Since enhanced bird flu control measures in September, retrospective tests have not revealed any unreported cases of abnormal poultry deaths. The agency also reported that from September to Feb. 18, 21 poultry farms were confirmed with bird flu, resulting in the culling of 199,600 birds, including 6 egg-laying farms.
Most egg farms in Taiwan still use traditional cage farming. When the H5N1 bird flu outbreak caused a shortage of eggs last year, the government offered subsidies, encouraging farmers to switch to upgrade farms to make egg production more stable.
However, the number of applicants remains low. The continuation of traditional farming methods and the re-importation of chicks to replenish egg-laying hens has led to another oversupply, resulting in price fluctuations as the market shifts between not having enough eggs and having too many.
