The Government asks for calm in the face of bird flu and says that there may be an impact on the price of eggs

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has asked for “tranquility” in the face of avian flu, while insisting on the “vigilance” that his department is carrying out on this matter, and has also admitted that in this context there may be “incidents” in the price of eggsalthough this last aspect has had a greater impact on the increase in demand.

In this sense, Planas spoke in response to questions from journalists this Saturday in Villanueva de Córdoba (Córdoba)where he visited the 100% Iberian Acorn-fed Ham Fair, Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), Los Pedroches.

Planas has defined the matter as “very serious” and has said that his Ministry continues to “with the greatest rigor and of course with the greatest care”, framework in which he recalled that this resolution has been issued that will come into force on Monday in relation to poultry abroad “and evidently with the need for protection in terms of biosecurity so that no focus in relation to wild birds and poultry production spreads.”

Planas has also said that he has been informed that “in the last few hours” there have been “concentrations in public parks or zoos of animals, great care must be taken”, because, as he said, “it is an issue, on the one hand, of public health and, on the other hand, of production”.

And questioned about the impact on the egg market, he said that “what there is is, obviously, in the last three years, an increase in demand for eggs by citizens, and it is very simple, because now it is prescribed from a dietary point of view as something positive and because it is a protein that has a good price for all families.

And he continued: “Therefore, consumption has increased, and indeed, if some incidence is added to this increase in consumption, price incidents may occur. But be careful, because it is not only the bird flu that has a consequence in this. We have destroyed more than two million specimens of chickens to carry in recent weeks, but that is not necessarily the criterion or the element of price evolution. As I say, for me the fundamental thing is the increase in demand.”

“Therefore, the message is one of tranquilitybut also surveillance. We have to be very, very attentive to the issue to be able to continue monitoring this issue between autonomous communities, as those responsible for the issue, and from the Ministry as national coordinator,” he concluded.