IRWIN Ambal, a longtime layer raiser, is used to queues of trucks in front of his warehouse in San Jose, Batangas. They are usually there to load trays of eggs to be distributed and sold.
But the Covid-19 pandemic brought a new picture that until today he’s still trying to get used to: long lines of L300, SUV cars, and vans buying table eggs from him.
And this picture of queues of private vehicles, instead of trucks of traditional buyers, is something he described as “borne out of need” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ambal, president of the Philippine Egg Board Association (Peba), said they saw a drastic disruption in domestic egg trade with the rise of online food sellers and community vendors or distributors.
“There are more L300, Innovas, Nissan SUVs and trucks in front of our warehouse than traditional trucks everyday,” he told the BusinessMirror.
He explained that Filipinos were forced to find alternative means of livelihood and profit to survive the pandemic; and egg reselling within their communities, such as subdivisions, or through online, was one such fallback.
The apparent shift was also caused by the need to have a stockpile of food, especially during the height of lockdowns imposed by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country, he added. Health experts have kept saying that people needed to ensure their lockdown diets are healthy, and eggs were pitched as one of the best —and most convenient—sources of nutrients.
“I think it was borne out of need from months of lockdowns. We saw empty shelves in groceries and there were logistical issues at the start that hampered trade. So people were forced to buy in trays and stock up in their houses,” he said.
“Eventually, they saw an entry point for business or selling: why don’t they sell table eggs in their subdivisions or villages?” he added.
‘Good’ disruption
Ambal said the disruption was a good thing since it shortened the value chain providing consumers with more affordable and accessible table eggs.
At the same time, he noted, it reduced carbon footprint and prevented people from going out too far to purchase their egg requirements.
Gregorio San Diego, chairman of Peba, said it was easy for Filipinos to venture into egg reselling since eggs have a long shelf life and do not require high overhead costs.
And since most Filipinos tightened their belts at the height of the lockdowns they were forced to find cheaper food alternatives, especially since retail prices of prime meat like chicken and pork had risen in the past months.
“Among the agricultural commodities, chicken eggs are the cheapest and easiest to handle. It has become a poor mans’ diet,” San Diego said. “To note, it is our cheapest protein source.”
The rise of egg resellers, San Diego added, was able to offset the loss of the layer raisers’ hotel, restaurant and industrial (HRI) markets. HRI accounts for 25 percent to 30 percent of the layer industry’s market.
San Diego explained that most of the egg resellers were those who were laid-off due to the shutdown of certain industries.
“We are fortunate that we were able to find a new market during the pandemic. I would be lying if I say we are not earning in the past months,” he told the BusinessMirror.
The higher demand for table eggs coupled by lower-than-expected supply pushed farm-gate prices of large-sized eggs to shoot beyond P6 per piece; while medium-sized ones are catching up at a price range of P5.6 to P5.8 per piece, Ambal said.
“And that is still going to go up as I see it,” he said.
Ambal added that most home resellers are buying large eggs, which used to be sold to HRI sector, instead of the usual medium-sized eggs.
Latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the average farm-gate price of chicken eggs in the first half rose to P121.27 per kilogram, which was 18.84 percent higher than the P102.04 per kg recorded in the same period of last year.
Based on PSA conversion, this translates to an average price of P5.77 per piece of chicken egg compared to P4.85 per piece recorded last year.
Chicken egg output in the first half reached 296,620 metric tons (MT), 4.64 percent over 283,460 MT recorded in the January-to-June period of last year.
The value of the country’s chicken egg output in the first half, at constant prices, rose by 4.6 percent to P29.857 billion from last year’s P28.535 billion, based on PSA data.
At current prices, the value of production reached nearly P36 billion versus last year’s P28.925 billion, PSA data showed.