BACOLOD CITY -- The “balut” or embryonated eggs requirement of Negros Occidental is currently being sustained by local producers as the province cannot yet source out supply from Luzon due to the ban brought by the bird flu outbreak.
Dr. Renante Decena, chief of the Provincial Veterinary Office, said Negros Occidental has a deficit in the supply of “balut” thus, it has been sourcing from various suppliers in Luzon.
Decena said that from January to June this year, about 1.6 million pieces of “balut” were shipped to the province. The shipment stopped since the issuance of the ban last August 13.
In Negros Oriental, some 6,600 pieces of “balut” shipped from Luzon to Dumaguete City were ordered to be buried by the Bureau of Animal Industry on Tuesday.
“For Negros Occidental, we have not monitored any entry of the product in our ports since the start of the bird flu outbreak in Pampanga,” Decena said.
Quarantine officers in different entry points of the province are directed to intercept and dispose “balut” and other poultry products coming from Luzon within the ban period, he added.
Bulk of the local “balut” production is in the southern portion of the province, including the towns of La Castellana and Valladolid. There is also an increasing number of duck raisers in Hinoba-an.
Decena said that although Negros Occidental is deficit in eggs and “balut,” the local production can still sustain local consumption requirement.
“We are not yet experiencing significant scarcity in the supply of the commodity. Possibly, previous and existing stocks of our local producers are not yet fully consumed since the ban started,” he noted.
Decena said they will have to see result of the monitoring next week to determine the status of the supply and whether there is movement in the prices and demand of “balut” in the market. (PNA)
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Topic: NegOcc sustains own ‘balut’ requirement amid bird flu fear (Read 299 times)