Every third egg we eat at Easter is imported. This was said by the head of the Union of Poultry Breeders Dimitar Belorechkov, writes the Telegraph.
The main imports are from Poland and Romania, but there are also eggs from Germany and other countries. At Easter, within about a week to ten days, about 30 million eggs are consumed in our country. For this year, I doubt there will be so many. Maybe there will be less – about 27-28 million pieces, said Belorechkov.
Although they opened the restaurants and those at the hotels did not stop working, because of the pandemic Bulgarians are less inclined to travel.
This is the reason why a slightly lower consumption of eggs is expected around Easter, as some of the chicken products are used in restaurants.
However, Belorechkov did not specify how many eggs are for cooking and how many are for painting. But the total is about 30 million, said the head of the poultry farmers.
Polish and Romanian eggs flooded the market last year, and the same is expected to happen this year. Since the Catholic Easter is a month earlier than the Orthodox one, there is a high probability that old products left over from the holiday in the Catholic countries will come to us.
“That is why we always call for the purchase of Bulgarian eggs that are fresh. In just one week we produce about 20-30 million units.
That is, domestic production can fully meet the needs of the Bulgarian market. If the eggs are bought earlier, they will be cheaper, “Belorechkov said.
Poultry farmers expect imports of about 10 million units in Bulgaria at Easter. So were they last year. This means that every third egg consumed in Bulgaria on Easter is imported.
Apart from the fact that foreign products may be old, there is a potential danger that those from Poland will be infected with salmonella, Belorechkov explained.
He recalled that last year there were many cases of caught chicken meat with salmonella, imported from this country. Most batches were infected with a strain that was not dangerous to human health, but there were some that posed a risk.
“They raise chickens there in the same way. So just as there is a danger of infecting meat with salmonella, there is a danger of eggs.
I can’t say for sure if their eggs will be dangerous. But, as far as I know, they do not vaccinate chickens against salmonella, unlike us.
It is a tradition for us to vaccinate all chickens, Belorechkov explained.
However, he clarified that the control is high, but this infection is difficult to control. According to him, the problem is that there can be both uninfected and infected eggs in the same batch.
And if the samples show that everything is clean, it does not mean that individual products are not contaminated. While in chickens the infection is easier to detect.
The only way to prevent salmonella is to boil the eggs for at least 12 minutes to kill the bacteria. Hard-boiled eggs, soft-boiled eggs should never be eaten, Belorechkov said.
Poultry farmers are worried that the stale imported goods will come to Bulgaria at much lower prices than those of domestic production.
Currently, eggs from a producer cost about 15-20 cents per piece, medium size. In the commercial network, however, are sold to consumers between 25 and 30 cents.
At Easter, the price is expected to rise due to higher demand.
Last year, around Easter, the price was 18 cents at the manufacturer and between 30 and 35 cents in the store network. Now prices are significantly lower, but this may change as the holiday approaches.
However, people can buy eggs a week or two earlier and store them in the refrigerator to make them cheaper. The shelf life of this product is 28 days.
The price of imported eggs depends on when Easter falls and whether they expire. They are usually 5 cents cheaper than ours.
If the Bulgarian ones are offered, for example, 30 cents per piece, the imported ones can be found at 25 cents. This is because the traders must be able to sell them due to the expiration date, Belorechkov explained.
According to him, the prices in the trade network vary widely, while those at the manufacturer differ by only a penny or two.
If we do not increase the price of eggs as Easter approaches, traders will increase it, the head of the poultry farmers is categorical.
Imported eggs are sold mainly in large chains. The Bulgarian ones can be found both in the chains and in the smaller shops.
It is not possible to judge whether the eggs are from vaccinated hens. But every user can see if they are Bulgarian – according to the BG code of the egg itself. Everything can be written on the box, the important thing is what is written on the shell itself, said Belorechkov.
We export 15 million to Greece
And while Poland and Romania flood their home market with their products every year on Easter, Bulgarian producers manage to export certain quantities to Greece.
We usually export about 10-15 million units. But it all depends on the activity of the tourist season, and so far no one is busy predicting what it will be in the pandemic 2021.
The most expensive at the moment are in Razgrad
The average wholesale price of eggs size M for the country is 19 cents.
This shows the price analysis of the Ministry of Agriculture for the past week.
The lowest price – 17 cents, was reported in Shumen, Stara Zagora and Dobrich. The highest price is 25 cents. It is registered only in one district – Burgas.
In the big chains the average price of eggs, size M, is 28 cents. The highest price is registered in Razgrad – 32 cents. The cheapest eggs are in the hypermarkets in Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil, where you can buy 24 cents.
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