Agri. Minister engages Reg. Four egg producers ahead of Christmas season

• producers agree to maintain suggested uniform price

On Monday, Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, met with small and medium-scale egg producers from Region Four to examine production forecasts and analyze anticipated demand ahead of the upcoming Christmas season.

With consumers increasingly raising concerns about egg prices, where reports show retail eggs in some areas ranging from G$1,200 to as high as G$2,000 per tray, Minister Mustapha said that the demand for eggs will increase in the coming weeks and that producers need to maintain a manageable price.

"We were looking at ways to stabilize the prices for eggs because there are different prices for eggs in different parts of the country. Some places were selling for $1,200 while others were selling for as much as $2,000. The consumers were complaining about the prices, so we decided to put systems in place to address that. When we put those systems in place, the egg producers raised a lot of concerns. So, this meeting is to discuss the position of the industry: for you to tell us if you can satisfy the demand and what the suggested prices for eggs will be, because we are approaching the holiday season, and during these peak times, people tend to increase their prices because of the demand. If the prices cannot be stabilized, we will have to put systems in place to ensure consumers can purchase eggs at an affordable cost," the Minister said.

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.

Minister Mustapha further noted that in past festive seasons, he emphasized the importance of ensuring stability and accessible prices of key commodities, including eggs and poultry meats.

In addition, Minister Mustapha pointed out that the Ministry of Agriculture had already signaled, earlier this year, its intention to ramp up local hatching-egg production so as to reduce dependency on imports and thereby stabilize supply and cost. He also said that the Ministry, through the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, will work with egg producers to facilitate farmers' markets where they can sell directly to consumers ahead of the holiday season.

Also present at the meeting were Permanent Secretary, Daun Ellis, and Director General, Dhaneshwar Deonarine.