Mexico raises egg imports cap to curb bird flu speculation

Mural newspaper also reported Guatemala 

banned imports of egg from Mexico. (Source: 

Agencia EFE, via terratv)

(Mexico to go) - 6 July

Federal and state-level authorities will seek to increase egg imports into Mexico to fend off prices increases of up to 40% provoked by hoarders and speculators in the face of a bird flu outbreak, wrote Fernando Paniagua in Mural newspaper.

The government response considers raising a cap to egg imports by up to 211,000 tonnes, thus fuelling an oversupply that would counter the effects of price manipulation.

The initiative is an example of effective collaboration between the country's Ministry of Economic Affairs and state governments represented by the so-called National Conference of Governors or CONAGO.

The Ministry of Agriculture said late in June more than 200,000 chickens had died in the cities of Tepatitlán and Acatic, in Jalisco’s highlands, due to the bird flu H7N3 virus, which is harmless to humans according to the World Health Organization. The agency has nonetheless implemented elaborate measures to keep the virus from spreading to other regions in the country.

In 2009, Mexican authorities faced a country-wide health crisis triggered by the A H1N1 virus, a source of swine flu, which lead to a plummeting in the demand of pork meat.

In contrast, the recent case of bird flu has driven up poultry prices as result of hoarding and speculation. One way to counter this practice includes reporting it to authorities such as the federal consumer attorney office, or PROFECO.

Poultry-based products are a key component of eating habits in Mexico, as well as part of an influential industry which includes Bachoco, one of the world’s top ten poultry producers.

Bachoco operates 82 poultry farms in the state of Jalisco and 186 in neighbouring Guanajuato. Its sales amounted to 9,338 million pesos ($693 million dollars) in the first quarter of 2012. 20% of Bachoco’s revenue came from its US-based operations (see Bachoco’s results).