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Indonesia looks to US, other countries, to export surplus eggs
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A worker harvests eggs at the Sekuntum Herbal layer farm in Purbolinggo, East Lampung, in 2019. (JP/Ivany Atina Arbi)
I
ndonesia is producing more chicken eggs than the domestic market needs, and the government is looking at other markets to handle the surplus.
The Agriculture Ministry's animal husbandry and animal health director general, Agung Suganda, said on Thursday that his office sought to increase exports of animal husbandry commodities while trying to meet the “quality standards, food safety and [other] requirements of the destination countries”, according to a press statement released on Friday.
According to the ministry’s records, Indonesia currently has a monthly egg surplus of 289 tonnes, or about 5 billion eggs, which could be shipped out to countries plagued with production deficits, including the United States.
Production in the US has been disrupted by avian flu, which caused a spike in prices to a record high average of US$6 per dozen in February, according to CNBC.
Read also: US confirms first bird flu case without animal contact
The government has expressed confidence that, in the early stage, the country could accommodate US orders totaling 1.6 million eggs per month and says it is in the process of exploring the market potential and ensuring compliance with export protocols.
“The eggs that will be exported must be of high quality, free from salmonella and not contain antibiotic residues to meet the standards of food safety imposed by the US Food and Drug Administration,” said Agung.
