Eggs to stay affordable for Christmas as producers, Minister set price

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, met with small and medium-scale egg producers from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) on Monday to examine production forecasts and analyse anticipated demand ahead of the upcoming Christmas season. According to the Agriculture Ministry, with consumers increasingly raising concerns about egg prices, where reports show retail eggs in some areas ranging from $1,200 to as high as $2,000 per tray, Mustapha said that the demand for eggs will increase in the coming weeks and that producers need to maintain a manageable price. During the discussions, producers agreed to maintain a suggested uniform price that will more closely reflect the retail price of table eggs across the country, thereby reducing arbitrary price hikes and ensuring affordability for consumers during the high-demand Christmas period.

In addition, Mustapha pointed out that the Agriculture Ministry had already signaled, earlier this year, its intention to ramp up local hatching-egg production so as to reduce dependency on imports and thereby stabilise supply and cost.