India's egg exports rise as demand from Malaysia rises

The Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has agreed to temporarily allow imports of chicken eggs from overseas, adding that the decision will be reviewed when domestic supplies stabilize.

After importing eggs from abroad, Malaysia's egg shortage narrowed to 1 million in December, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu said. This compares to a shortage of 157 million eggs in November and 118 million eggs in November.

“Malaysia is buying a large amount of eggs from India for the first time and it looks like India’s egg exports to Malaysia will remain strong in the first half of 2023,” Sasti Kumar, joint managing DIRECTOR of Ponni Farms, one of India’s top egg exporters, told REUTERS. He added that India shipped 5 million eggs to Malaysia in December, 10 million in January and up to 15 million in February.

Imports of eggs from India helped Malaysia lower prices from a record high in December. Malaysian Animal Breeders Association Federation President Tan Chee Hee is confident that the country's egg production will recover in the coming months as the government increases subsidies.