Singapore – The news that a distributor had to throw away 250,000 eggs from Thailand has shocked many people in Singapore. It apparently had to do that because there is now an oversupply of eggs.
Those reacting in shock feel that the eggs could have been sold at a discount or donated to the less fortunate and the poor.
On Wednesday (June 17), mothership.sg reported that Singapore was facing an oversupply of eggs due to restrictions being lifted by Malaysia, Thailand and other countries. Singapore had faced a decreasing supply because of the Covid-19 pandemic and had diversified its egg imports in April, including getting them from Poland and South Korea.
What began as decreasing supply has become the direct opposite. There is now an oversupply of eggs, which caused prices to drop by at least two cents each, according to a zaobao.com.sg report.
An egg distributor, Kai Young Huat (KYH), which sources 80 per cent of its eggs from Malaysia, experienced a 10 per cent decrease in sales due to reduced demand from hawkers, restaurants, hotels and other clients. The company admitted to zaobao.com.sg that it could not drastically reduce import orders in case demand spiked again suddenly.
“While imported eggs can generally be kept in the chilled warehouse for four to six months, to ensure freshness, we try to sell them as quickly as possible even if it’s not profitable. At the moment, the eggs that were imported in May are being sold at a loss,” said a KYH representative.
Another company, Kim Hock Egg Distributor, said its sales had dropped by around 50 per cent in the last couple of months despite cutting imports by the same percentage and reducing prices by about 10 per cent. “We had to throw away 250,000 eggs imported from Thailand two weeks ago, as reluctant as we were,” said the company’s manager.
It remains challenging for egg distributors to adjust to the volatile market conditions and gauge how much they should supply based on demand.
Those commenting on the news felt that the eggs could have been donated before the expiry date or preserved in a different form to avoid such waste.
Others suggested reducing prices to boost sales.
One person suggested that the eggs could have been made into omelettes and distributed to foreign workers under quarantine.
Some put the blame on the panic-buying when the Covid-19 situation began to worsen. The surge in demand had resulted in the current oversupply.
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