The shortage of eggs and the increase in their price due to the internal quarantine caused by the avian flu virus is benefiting organic egg farms, which have increased their sales during the last few weeks.
In an interview, Rosaura Peraza Miranda, from the group of women entrepreneurs of Kikibá, a producer farm located in Maní and other municipalities, pointed out that since the egg shortage in stores and supermarkets began, they have been able to increase their clientele.
She pointed out that Kikibá is currently made up of 15 women from Maní, who care for approximately 120 backyard hens, which are raised and raised in open pens, reducing the animals’ stress.
The organic egg producer emphasized that thanks to the corn- and vegetable-based diet, the laying hens grow healthy and free of suffering. The same amount of “good quality” eggs are produced per day, ranging from 50 to 70 grams.
“We have small eggs and also double-yolk eggs, but the difference is that it is a rich egg, more nutritious, more consistent and in which no chemicals were used,” she commented.
At the beginning, she added, the commercial egg cost two pesos and the Kikibá egg cost almost twice as much. But with the sanitary problem faced by the large farms in Yucatán, now the white egg has reached the price of 4.50 pesos a piece, that is, 50 cents more than the organic one.
That is why Kikibá found a new market in the Oxkutzcab market, where a 30-egg tray sells for up to 115 pesos.
Likewise, through the Heiffer International organization in Mexico, their eggs reach stores and restaurants in Mérida.
“Many people do not value the eggs we have at home, it is a consistent and very beautiful egg, many people prefer to buy the other egg because it is usually cheaper, but now that we sell cheaper, people will realize which egg is better,” she said.
They grow with special care
Guadalupe Quetzal Hoil, from the organic farm “La Hermoshura“, explained that the advantages of organic eggs over industrial eggs are in the care of the hens, who have the opportunity to develop and interact as they would naturally.
“In large farms, they are kept all day in a cage that does not allow them to move, they can only move their heads to eat the food and they have the lights on for 24 hours, which causes stress to the hens and produces a lower quality egg,” she said.
He added that the advantage of organic egg farms in the face of the avian flu contingency is that they are smaller and are outside the range that is maintained in epidemiological surveillance, so it is easier to identify some type of disease by behavioral change.
Quetzal Hoil invited egg consumers to give the organic product a chance, since in addition to the flavor, they guarantee that they are consuming a food that was produced without any type of violence or animal abuse.
TYT Newsroom