So far, Colombia has exported seven million eggs to Cuba, but it is estimated that this figure will reach 40 million by the end of 2024, according to a dispatch from the agency. Latin Press citing an authoritative source.
The data was provided by the president of the National Federation of Poultry Farmers of Colombia (Fenavi), Gonzalo Moreno, who added that Cuba became a natural market for the South American nation due to its proximity, but also because it can compete with price and quality.
Moreno’s statements took place at the Corferias fairgrounds in Bogotá, where the XXI Fenavi Congress was held.
The businessman added that although he is looking towards other Caribbean States with a view to exporting, “Cuba is now the market.”
Likewise, he announced the upcoming export of liquid eggs to the island for use in industrial processes (pastry making).
“A first refrigerated test container will be sent soon,” he said.
Liquid egg, also called liquid whole egg, is the product made with eggs separated from their shells, with yolks and whites in their natural proportions mixed, strained, homogenized or not, and pasteurized.
This year’s export goal to Cuba is equivalent to almost the same amount that is produced in Colombia in one day, estimated by Fenavi at 50 million units.
Bilateral trade on wheels
The eventual increase in the export of Colombian eggs to the island was described by the ambassador of Havana in Bogotá, Javier Caamaño, as “excellent news that demonstrates the great potential that exists in commercial relations between both nations.”
In accordance with Latin Press, The Cuban diplomat also pondered the upcoming increase in commercial flights between the capitals of the two countries with the start, on July 2, of the flights of the airline Avianca.
These itineraries will increase to 11 weekly frequencies on the Bogotá-Havana route.
Last March, the first export of Colombian eggs to the island took place, “the result of the efforts of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, ProColombia, associations of the poultry sector and the joint work with the Cuban authorities to strengthen commercial ties and continue advancing in the reactivation of foreign trade between Colombia and the island,” wrote the Colombian newspaper The New Centuryin its digital version.
The source added that last year, “total exports to Cuba reached 52.9 million dollars, 73.5% more than in 2022” and that “everything indicates that the growing trend in trade continues this year.”
During the last Havana International Fair, FIHAV, in November 2023, eight Colombian companies from three departments and three unions in the agroindustrial sector participated.
In accordance with The New Centuryresults were obtained from immediate purchases by Cuba for a value of 400 thousand dollars and business expectations for one million dollars in products such as food, feminine protection items, personal hygiene, institutional hygiene, baby care, facial care, fresh products and processed, raw materials and agroindustrial chemicals, among others.
National poultry production
Cuban poultry production is largely destined for the basic basket and free sale, and another small part goes to tourism, but it is at 50% of its capacities, as admitted last October in an extensive report published on the site Cubadebate.
It costs between 5.60 and 6 pesos to produce an egg that is then sold in the basic basket for 2.08 pesos, which translates into million-dollar losses for the company, revealed the president of the Food and Poultry Business Group (Gealav), Jorge Luis Parapar López.
According to the manager, another reason that explains the insufficient supply is the low production of feed with imported raw materials, which is around almost a thousand tons, when 1,500 to 1,600 would be needed daily if all the necessary supplies were available. animals required by the program.
99% of the raw materials used to produce feed (also intended for pig production) are imported, such as corn and soybeans, the source added.
At the same time, the lack of fuel to transport feed, electricity outages in poultry farms, the lack of medicines for animals and even problems in the manufacture of cardboard trays, conspire against egg production.
A meager fee
The per capita quota delivered for the basket regulated by the supply book has been reduced until it reaches the current level of five units every two months throughout the country.
Beyond the poaching egg sellers who operate in the “submerged” market, although advertised on the streets, the product can be purchased legally in MSME businesses.
The prices of a carton of 30 units have fluctuated in the midst of the inflationary spiral. The band has moved from 1,900 pesos to 3,500, in peaks of low supply and in accordance with the oscillations of the currency (USD or Euro) in an informal exchange market that in recent days has suffered sharp ups and downs.
