Why eggs in market down to peewee, extra-small, small

Peewee, extra-small, and small.

These are the sizes of many of the eggs now being sold at the market in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

According to Bernadette Reyes' report on "24 Oras," the prices of bigger-sized eggs have gone up.

Smaller eggs are getting cheaper.

"Ngayon, ang maliliiit may 100. Dati, wala yan,” egg wholesaler Florence Padilla said.

(Now, there are smaller ones worth 100. There was nothing like that before.)

Why are chicken eggs getting smaller?

Egg producers point to the hot weather.

"Sobrang init ng ating panahon na sumabay pa po yung El Niño," Philippine Egg Brand Association president Francis Uyhara said.

"Ang epekto nito sa ating manok yung paghina ng kanilang pagkain na nagreresulta po ng number one ng paliit ng mga nakukuha nating itlog sa kanila," he added.

(The weather is hot and, together with the El Niño, it affects on our chickens, weakens their appetite, which results in getting smaller eggs from them.)

Despite this, PEBA said that there should not be a spike in prices of large eggs and that there are ways to avoid the heat affecting egg production.

“Nagdadagdag tayo ng supplements like electrolytes na pang heat stress. Mechanically, pwede maglagay ng mga industrials fans sa loob ng kulungan ng manok para makatulong sa air circulation. Additional cost, pero binabalanse natin pagdagdag ng investment sa mawawala satin because of mortalities at extreme na pagbagsak ng production,” Uyehara said.

(We can add supplements like electrolytes for heat stress. Mechanically, we can add industrial fans inside chicken coops to help with air circulation. It’s an additional cost, but we are balancing the additional investments that we can lose because of mortalities and extreme drop in production)

The Department of Agriculture also said that there is a cycle in egg production, which will improve once the weather turns colder.

They also added that there is enough supply of eggs at the moment. —Jiselle Casucian/NB, GMA Integrated News