Egg shortage in Yucatan, price rises to 58 pesos per kilo

The white egg shortage prevailing in Yucatán will cause an increase in the price of the product: the kilo will go from 55 to 58 pesos per kilo, warned Jorge Cardeña Licona, state leader of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Small Tourism (Canacope).

He recalled that at the end of last year there was a shortage of chicken, including turkey, which is the most consumed product during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve season, which caused the price to shoot up to a great extent.

In fact, at the beginning of this year there is also a lack of poultry meat in several neighborhoods and subdivisions, where both suppliers and buyers attribute the lack of products to the AH5N1 avian influenza epidemic, a disease that has already been detected in 15 farms, mainly in Umán and Mérida.

The farms were depopulated, washed and disinfected, all the birds were slaughtered, and when laboratory tests show that the virus is not present, the quarantine is lifted.

Because of this problem, the product is brought from other States due to the prevailing shortage, so the anomaly will continue for at least two more months until the quarantine is lifted.

Cardeña Licona stated that the suppliers have begun to reject some orders and only supply large stores, which causes a shortage in the stores in the neighborhoods, subdivisions and housing units of Mérida.

He emphasized that the shortage of the product is a consequence of the fact that its price will continue to increase this month and, as of today, the average price of a kilogram of eggs is 55 pesos.

He indicated that the members of the Canacope denounced that the suppliers deny them the product, arguing that there is not enough in stock and in some cases they only deliver half of what is requested, which causes shortages.

This attitude provokes the anger of the merchants, since they do not have the product to satisfy the demand of their clients and consumers, who go to different stores and end up going to the supermarkets.

The problem varies from one place to another, since it depends on the type of supplier that each store has; there are large companies that have supply problems, while others have gone ahead by obtaining this food in other States.

The leader of the small traders commented that the after-effects of the avian flu have been registered since December 2022, since the first infected farms were detected in November.

This week the federal government announced that there are already 15 farms in Yucatan with the presence of the virus, which led to the slaughter of thousands of birds, both fattening and laying hens, young birds, etc.

He emphasized that a kilo of eggs is currently sold at 55 pesos; however, the price will increase in the next few days due to the scarcity of the product.

TYT Newsroom