TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Eggs were becoming more expensive, but the government was stabilizing the prices of animal feed to help farmers and food processors, reports said Friday (Feb. 11).

The Council of Agriculture (COA) announced that the wholesale price for eggs would rise from NT$34.5 (US$1.23) to NT$36.5 per 600 gram Saturday (Feb. 12), the Liberty Times reported. Consumers recently complained about shortages of eggs at supermarkets, while farmers said they had been forced to cut production as they suffered losses last year when indoor eating at restaurants was banned to prevent COVID-19 infections.

In a separate move, representatives of animal feed producers told Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) that they supported the government’s price stabilization policies, CNA reported. As they were benefiting from a suspension of the 5% business tax for corn, they had decided not to impose price rises likely to hit customers, the report said.

Price hikes for animal feed would first hit hog and poultry farmers, driving up their costs, and end up making pork, chicken meat more expensive, also hurting the business of restaurants and market stallholders, Shen said.

He explained that the decision to suspend the tax on corn from Feb. 7 had been reached to alleviate the pressure on the animal feed sector, which had seen its costs rising due to its reliance on imported raw materials.