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Baking industry says foreign egg products necessary

The American baking industry says foreign imports of eggs and egg products will be needed to deal with the downturn in supply caused by avian flu.

Cory Martin, with the American Baking Association, says the loss of domestic egg supply from the virus has hit the restaurant industry and others harder than the baking industry which forward contracts for egg products. Baking production has not slowed yet, but he tells Brownfield, the supply of eggs IS decreasing and is a big industry concern.

Martin tells Brownfield Ag News the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has approved the Netherlands as an equivalent for importing egg products,  “From what I understand, those egg products have not yet started coming into the U.S. but it sent an important signal to the market that help was on the way. From what I understand, it will make up, at the most, for about 10% of the egg product production that was taken off-line because of the avian influenza.”

Martin says other countries in the process of becoming equivalent are Argentina, Australia and Lithuania.

Martin says the USDA has been very responsive and the ABA wants to see U.S. egg farmers back up and running as soon as possible. He tells Brownfield, “They are the most efficient means of providing the products we need in the WORLD and we would much rather purchase from them than, you know, others than foreign entities.”

Previously, only Canada was approved for egg imports into the U.S.

AUDIO:  Interview with Cory Martin (11:00 mp3):