Atthakorn: Atthakorn presided over a meeting of the Egg Board, emphasizing measures to stabilize egg prices. He revealed that production and consumption in 2024 are close to a balance, urging the government to stimulate domestic consumption and manage costs from all sides. He confirmed that operators requesting to import new parent stock must comply with established guidelines and aim to distribute egg-laying chicken breeds to farmers.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Atthakorn Sirilathayakorn, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, chaired a meeting of the Egg Board. Mr. Prayoon Insakul, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Somchuan Rattanamangalanon, Director-General of the Department of Livestock Development, executives from relevant agencies, and farmer representatives also attended the meeting.
The Department of Livestock Development reported that there are currently 53.84 million caged egg-laying hens, with an estimated production of 44.68 million eggs per day (as of July 31, 2015). Meanwhile, the price of chicken eggs as of August 28, 2015, was an average of 3.60 baht per egg. The average consumption rate of Thai people is 236 eggs per person per year, representing a total national consumption of 15,953 million eggs per year.
During January - July 2025, Thailand exported 304.63 million fresh chicken eggs, valued at 1,087.94 million baht. The main trading partners were Singapore at 78%, Hong Kong at 9%, Japan at 8%, the United Arab Emirates at 3%, and others at 2%. Exports help absorb excess production from the domestic system and help stabilize domestic prices without impacting consumers. The Egg Board has established guidelines for maintaining egg price stability to avoid impacting farmers, while also comprehensively and carefully managing production costs and other factors.
The meeting also discussed management approaches for the production chain, from upstream to downstream. The Ministry of Agriculture has assigned the Department of Livestock Development to closely monitor farming costs, particularly animal feed and energy costs, which are key risk factors. The meeting will also review production management plans to ensure flexibility in response to the situation, to enhance the security of egg-laying chicken farmers.
Furthermore, the resolution approved the draft of the "Eat Eggs Every Day, Good Health at All Ages" project to promote domestic egg consumption, emphasizing integrated cooperation with public health, education, and local agencies to raise awareness and understanding about the benefits of eggs for all ages, particularly children, working-age people, and the elderly.
Mr. Atthakorn emphasized that in granting permission to import parent stock, the Egg Board has assigned the Department of Livestock Development, as its secretary, to implement guidelines for new operators requesting to import parent stock (PS). Operators requesting imports must have a clear production and marketing plan. Detailed information must be submitted through the subcommittee, following the procedures for the committee's consideration. This aims to provide operators with opportunities to participate in distributing parent stock to farmers. However, this must not impact the ongoing egg price stabilization project or existing importers.