Egg prices up 30%

TIRANA, Nov. 25 – Egg prices have registered a sharp 30 percent hike in the past couple of months which producers claim is a result of rising cost of imported food. Egg prices currently stand at an average of 18 lek (Euro 0.126), up from 14 lek a couple of months ago. Meanwhile, household eggs traded by local farmers are reported to have reached a record 40 lek (Euro 0.28).
Albania has around 275,000 poultry establishments. Only 16 establishments are considered as industrial holdings of which three are currently authorised to export class B eggs to the EU, says the European Commission’s Health and Consumers Directorate-General in a report after an audit carried out this year.
Albania’s exports of class B eggs to the EU market dropped to 387 metric tonnes in 2013, down from 2,118 tonnes in 2012 and 1,303 tonnes in 2011.
The EU Food and Veterinary Office says Albania’s certification system requires refinement in order to ensure that certifying officers are in a position of certifying that eggs class B to be exported to the EU meet all the requirements contained in the export certificates.
“Rules and principles on official certification are in place and they are mainly in line with EU requirements. However the certification system does not ensure that certifying officers are in a position of certifying all the statements contained in the veterinary certificate as they certify data of which they have no personal knowledge or which has not been ascertained before signing the veterinary certificate.”
INSTAT data shows domestic egg production in 2013 dropped to 830 million, down from 887 million in 2012.