China Egg Farmers Desperate As Melamine Crisis Worsens, Over 10,000 Chickens Slaughtered Everyday

The Epoch Times,  Oct 31, 2008-

Since Hong Kong detected melamine in Chinese eggs on October 26, egg farmers in northern China’s Dingxing county, Baoding city have been increasingly anxious about their livelihoods.

In the past five days, the egg wholesale price has not been over US88 cents per kilogram, and in Zhongtaoshen village, the 120 egg farmers have had to slaughter over 10,000 chickens everyday, according to wholesaler, Mr Liao’s estimation.

According to the Jinghua Times report, most of the local eggs are sold to Beijing and Guangdong, and wholesalers have already reported that all eggs will be rejected if there is not a “No Melamine” certificate attached.

Facing cash flow pressure, many farmers have had to sell their chickens to slaughterhouses at prices as low as US$1.20 per kilogram.

Egg farmer Lu Shuanxi from Zhongtao Shenyi village recently sold 1,000 chickens to the slaughter house for money to buy several more days chicken feed for the rest of his 5,000 chickens.

On October 27 and 28, no one came to his village to buy eggs, and on October 29, the egg price offered by wholesalers was only US64 cents per kilogram.

According to one Zhongtao Shenyi village committee staff member, there are few refrigeration facilities in the area, and the first batch of eggs produced after October 26 is expected to expire in 9 days.

However, those farmers are also victims, as recent media reports indicate that chicken feed is actually the source of the melamine in the eggs. The use of melamine is an open secret in the animal feed industry in China, which initially started in aquaculture farming, and spread to poultry and livestock farms.

Internet reports from mainland China argue that most of the melamine comes from chemical plant waste.

– The Epochtimes