ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s egg consumption has risen by about one million, the Department of Animal Production and Health has said.
“The daily consumption of chicken eggs in this country was 7 million eggs and in the last few months that amount has exceeded to about 8 million eggs,” Department officials said in a discussion with the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry Mahinda Amaraweera.
Amaraweera said the increase in local demand should not compromise Sri Lanka’s egg exports, and asked for a survey to be conducted on egg consumption.
Sri Lanka exports chicken eggs mainly to the Maldives, Amaraweera told EconomyNext. “Because of the presence of bird flu in other countries, there is a high demand for eggs from Sri Lanka.”
The increase in egg consumption in the island was attributed to the rise in foreign tourists, prices of meat and fish going up, as well as local demand for it as the cheapest protein food available.
Sri Lanka has received 813,176 tourists as of May 7.
A currency crisis also pushed many people into poverty, making eggs a cheaper source of nutrition compared to meat and fish which are more expensive.
Switz Lanka, a hen egg producer which markets its product under the Happy Hen brand, exports eggs to the high-end Maldivian hospitality sector.
Maxies and Co Pvt Ltd is also listed as an egg exporter by Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board.
Last year, Sri Lanka’s egg production was heavily affected by price controls imposed by the Consumer Affairs Authority, as chicken feed prices went up amid local forex shortage and a global commodity bubble. The government had also imposed restrictions on maize imports which poultry farmers use for chicken feed.
But in April this year Amaraweera said egg production had exceeded the daily requirement, and local consumers could expect a fall in egg prices.
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