The production of eggs in Seychelles has been steadily increasing during the last ten years or so. But there are special conditions between the period of March and May that heavily affect egg production, creating shortages in the country. That is because of the increasing demand for egg production during that time and the drop in domestic production, leading to imports.
The government is keen to have more people venture into the poultry business while exhorting farmers presently in the business to go for increased production. Seychelles in 2022 had 37 registered egg producers and the commercial laying hen’s population is estimated as 184,763 birds in April with a daily average production of 2.4 million eggs. To increase production, authorities have imported new commercial laying hens. They have a much better potential for production and are suitable to Seychelles conditions.
During the importation of hens, there are some constraints, among them being transportation challenges, the foremost. A good poultry herd position is achieved only when replacements are evenly distributed throughout the year. However, this is not happening. Therefore, there is a shortage of eggs in the market especially during the period from March to May because of weather-related reasons. Because of various reasons including the drop in the feed intake of hens and higher degree of temperature, the production of eggs gets affected, creating a mismatch between demand and supply and consequent spiraling of prices.
The government is wanting to address this mismatch by empowering the farmers to produce more eggs and also by indigenously creating facilities for breeding good quality hens.
