Poultry egg prices drop sharply, farmers suffer losses

Ms. Tran Thi Yen's livestock farm in hamlet 8, Dien Trung. Photo by Mai Giang

Dien Trung is the locality with the largest chicken farming in Dien Chau; the whole commune has 52 farms raising laying hens with 104,000 birds, supplying the market with about 80,000 eggs every day. All are certified VietGap, and egg quality is strictly controlled. During the Lunar New Year, the price of eggs was 2,000 VND/egg, however, for more than a month now, the price of eggs has decreased by 30-40%.

Currently, large, beautiful eggs are only sold for 1,500 VND/egg, while small eggs are sold for 1,200 VND/egg. At this price, farmers lose an average of 200 VND/egg sold. Not only is there a price crisis, but consumption has also decreased, so farmers have to sell them themselves in many places.

Ms. Tran Thi Yen in Hamlet 8, Dien Trung said: The family raises 2,000 laying hens, of which 1,000 are in the egg-laying stage. On average, 1,000 hens lay 800 eggs per day, the family has to spend 800,000 VND to buy food; that's not including electricity, water, and medicine. The total cost is more than a million, but selling the goods to retail everywhere is only about a million, not including the labor the whole family spends.

There are quite a lot of unsold chicken eggs in livestock farms. Photo: Mai Giang

Mr. Le Khanh - Dien Trung Agricultural Extension Officer said: Previously, egg prices were stable, farmers made profits so they continuously increased their herds, plus after Tet consumption is decreasing so chicken eggs are difficult to sell. We are trying to find outlets for farmers through links with supermarkets, schools, and factories, but the purchase price is also very low so farmers face losses.

Currently, Dien Chau district has 85 egg-laying farms with a daily egg production of hundreds of thousands of eggs. With egg prices falling as they are now, poultry farmers in Dien Chau are losing billions of dong each month.

Mai Giang