Livestock Department push or higher egg exports

BANGKOK, Oct 22 (TNA) -- The Department of Livestock Development will coordinate with eggs farmers and suppliers to increase exports to help prop up falling prices. The Department said it will call egg farmers and other major operators in the local egg industry to a meeting on October 24 to coordinate increased exports for eggs to reduce oversupply brought about by lower local consumption during the recent Vegetarian Festival. At present prices for eggs of mixed sizes is at 2.30 baht each. Prior to the Vegetarian Festival local prices was at 2.60 baht per egg. The department estimates that prices will stay the way they are for at least the next 1-2 weeks until the end of the school break. When schools reopen on November 1 prices will rise. The department said that it has been working to prop up egg prices and has been working with 16 local breeders to increase egg exports to 50 containers or 16 million eggs a month since April of this year. The egg traders at a market in Bangkok said that sales had tailed off significantly. Before this they sold on average 20,000 eggs a day but that's has dropped to only 10,000. They estimate that more cautious spending brought about by the slack economy was to blame. (TNA)