If you go to the supermarket and find the egg shelves empty, don’t despair. Although there may be a temporary supply interruption, there is no supply interruption regarding this food.
The message of calm is left by the director general of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED), Gonçalo Lobo Xavier, for whom the increased demand for eggs at Christmas and at the end of the year may have led to the unavailability of the article , as well as the delays in replacing it in store, “which has taken longer than desired”. However, the person in charge says that he has “the indication from the suppliers of the large distribution that the situation is normalizing, also because seasonal consumption has decreased”.
In terms of production, Companhia Avícola do Centro (CAC), owner of the Matinados brand, refers to the lack of eggs during the holiday season – a time when the consumption of this protein increases by about 30% – to the difficulties in replenishing the stocks on the shelves. Regarding the scarcity that may have occurred in January, the president of the company, Manuel Sobreiro, points out that demand exceeds supply, since the first month of the year is “one of the times to replace flocks of chickens , for a new leg bike”.
For his part, Paulo Mota, president of the National Association of Poultry Producers of Eggs (ANAPO), points out that “under normal circumstances, the departure of chickens is programmed for the month of January, just after the consumption peak”, which would explain this incidental difference. can explain.
The avian flu that ravaged Europe between 2021 and 2022 – and which reached some national farms – will also bear some responsibility in this situation. As Gonçalo Lobo Xavier says, the problems caused by this situation will already be obsolete. “Of course, given the need to overcome the problem and slaughter of poultry, the recovery of the production chain takes time. But it tends to normalize,” he says.
domestic consumption increases
Perhaps due to the general increase in the price of food, the truth is that egg consumption in Portugal has increased exponentially. Even outside the holidays, “at the end of October 2022 there was already a consumption increase of 5.4% compared to the year 2021”, reveals the chairman of ANAPO. Production was 6.1% higher at the end of November.
With increasing demand and despite requests from foreign markets, which offer very attractive prices, Portuguese egg producers are exporting less, says Paulo Mota. And although we are still self-sufficient internally, it is exports that have suffered a setback. “Our level of self-sufficiency has decreased: in 2016 it was 114%, in 2021 it was 103%, due to the increase in consumption,” explains the associative leader.
As a result, “egg and ‘egg products’ exports have also decreased. We went from about 27,200 tons in 2016 to 20,300 tons in 2021,” he continues, adding that “our export orientation (export/production) went from 23% in 2016 to 18% in 2021”.
For the time being, price increases are a situation that the CAC does not foresee, despite the increase in some factors of production, said Manuel Sobreiro. And he agrees with Paulo Mota, regarding the increase in demand and the limitation of exports.
“Portuguese growers export to Europe or other countries the quantities they already exported before, like our case, which we have always exported about 5% of our turnover, despite the fact that demand, especially from Europe, has increased exponentially. we can’t respond,” he says.
Less self-reliance
Despite everything, national production has gradually increased to cope with the increase in consumption, says Manuel Sobreiro. “It should be borne in mind that we have always been a country with an average self-sufficiency rate of between 105% and 110%. However, this self-sufficiency has declined as consumption has increased in recent years.”
The CAC, whose production will increase by 6% in 2022, after a two-year stagnation, justifies the national increase in egg consumption as a “consumer haven in a product whose protein and vitamin value, compared to other foodstuffs, one of the most inexpensive”.
Mónica Costa is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
