14 Mar 2024

Colombia exports eggs to Cuba for the first time

Cuba is preparing to receive two containers of eggs that departed from Colombia on monday, in an unprecedented shipment between the two countries, thanks to an agreement established at the last Havana International Fair (Fihav).

David Corredor

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Cuba is preparing to receive two containers of colombian eggs that departed from that nation on monday, in an unprecedented shipment between the two countries, thanks to an agreement established at the last Havana International Fair (Fihav).

According to a report in the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, the shipment left Colombia at 11:00 p.m. on monday, march 11, and contains two 40-foot containers, equivalent to 518,400 eggs.

This is the first shipment, which the Colombian poultry industry sees as the starting point of a relationship for the sector and hopes to be able to export a similar volume every month by 2025. The general manager of ICA, Juan Fernando Roa Ortiz, said that Colombia is free of avian influenza and Newcastle high virulence, which ensures conditions for the biosecurity of the poultry industry in that country.

In addition, the entity has had the Poultry Sustainability Seal for two years, which represents the result of a comprehensive work to promote sustainable practices in the sector, said the ICA manager.

Egg production in Cuba has plummeted by 50% because of the lack of feed and financing to buy the raw material to manufacture them, authorities admitted last year. Poultry production in Cuba is currently at 50 percent of capacity, both in terms of the number of animals and production.

These conditions are reflected in the food and the economy of Cubans, who have seen a decrease in the distribution of eggs for the basic food basket but an increase in the prices of the product in street sales. In September 2023, it was reported that the price of a carton of eggs had reached 3,000 cuban pesos in Havana, more than the minimum wage earned by a worker on the island (2,100 CUP). This issue has not improved over the past months, because prices continue to range from 2,500 to 3,000 pesos and cubans wonder when the unfortunate inflation that hits their pockets will stop.

The sale of eggs imported from the United States is attracting the attention of Cubans. Some users say it is increasingly difficult to understand the economic embargo that limits trade relations between the two countries and Cuba uses as an argument for its low productivity in all sectors.