Planas assures that there is no risk of egg shortages due to avian flu

The Spanish Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Luis Planas, stated this Monday that he does not see a risk of egg shortages in Spain amid the avian flu cases that have led the Government to decide to confine all outdoor-raised birds as a precaution against the current impact and the expected arrival of infected migratory birds from northern Europe. "No, no, not at all," he declared when asked if he sees a risk of egg shortages in Spain, upon his arrival at the meeting of the European Union's Agriculture and Fisheries ministers taking place today in Brussels. Planas explained that Spain has a national production "of 120%" and that "20%" is exported. "Now what the producers and marketers are adjusting are these figures and, therefore, here too a call for realism regarding the matter. A single product does not alter the price of food or in general, the cost of living, we saw it last year with olive oil at very high levels, but it is a reference factor," he explained. He ...