Thai egg producers have agreed to reduce breeder imports by 10% in 2019 to stabilize domestic prices for eggs.

Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development and 16 major breeder importers agreed to reduce the number of imported breeding stock in 2019 by 10%. Parent stock will be capped at 500,000 birds and grand parent stock (GP) at 4,050 birds, putting the number of layer hens at 50 million, churning out 42-43 million eggs/day.

In 2018, the country had 521,860 PS and 56-57 million hens producing 44-45 million eggs/day.

The DLD took action after complaints from egg producers that egg prices have dipped to the lowest point in 30 years. Eggs in early November sold for 1.4-2.3 baht each.

Thailand has exported around 258 containers or 84 million eggs since April and 857,456 hens aged over 72 weeks have been depleted, said Dr Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, DLD deputy director general.

Producers blame excess breeding stock imports and delayed hen depletion for depressing prices despite high domestic demand at more than 10 million eggs/day. They also urged the authorities to investigate why consumers are still paying high prices for eggs despite extremely low farm gate prices.