How China Went From Too Many Eggs to Too Few | Vantage on Firstpost | 4K

[00:00:00]Now, what happens when the world's largest producer faces a shortage of one of its most basic foods? That is exactly what is happening in China.

[00:00:09]For years, the country has dominated global egg production. Let me pull up the numbers for you.

[00:00:16]In 2024, it produced 30.86 million metric tons. That is more than any other nation in the world. India was the second largest producer. It produced approximately 8.10 million metric tons.

[00:00:28]Yet today, a food that has long been one of the cheapest items on the shopping list is suddenly costing much more in China.

[00:00:36]Prices are reportedly surged by more than 40% from a year prior.

[00:00:40]Wholesale rates have reached their highest level in a decade. And the Chinese state media has reportedly even coined a new term, rocket eggs.

[00:00:49]So, how did the world's largest producer find itself here?

[00:00:53]The answer lies in a series of events.

[00:00:55]They turned a surplus of eggs into a shortage. To understand what happened, we have to go back to last year.

[00:01:01]Now, at the time, poultry farmers were producing more than the market needed.

[00:01:06]After several years of good returns, they expanded their flocks. More hens meant more supply.

[00:01:11]But consumers were not buying enough to match that growth. The result, there was a glut. And the prices of eggs collapsed. For many farmers, selling eggs was no longer profitable, so they responded the only way they could, by reducing their flock.

[00:01:26]Large numbers of egg-laying hens were reportedly culled. It helped them survive in the short term, but it also created a new problem.

[00:01:35]When demand picked up again earlier this year, there were not enough laying hens left. In other words, the market had swung from one extreme to the other. And that was only the first blow.

[00:01:47]You see, even as supply was shrinking, the cost of producing and selling eggs was also going up. Now, why is that?

[00:01:54]Because of the conflict in West Asia. It has pushed up global energy prices. Fuel has become more expensive. Transport costs have risen and cooking gas prices have climbed quickly. Every stage of the supply chain has become more costly.

[00:02:09]The impact has been felt everywhere from poultry farms to local food stalls.

[00:02:13]Small food vendors who depend heavily on eggs are now paying more for their main ingredient. Many say they cannot fully pass those higher costs on to their consumers.

[00:02:24]They fear people will simply stop buying. So their profit margins have become thinner.

[00:02:29]Meanwhile, households are feeling the pressure, too. Eggs remain one of China's most affordable sources of protein. For millions of families, they're not a luxury, they are a necessity.

[00:02:39]So what did shoppers do when prices climbed? They delayed buying eggs.

[00:02:44]This is in the hope that prices would soon fall. But that never happened. On the contrary, they soared and they soared sharply.

[00:02:51]In the end, many had little choice but to buy them again.

[00:02:54]And that has quietly pushed up household grocery bills. This has reportedly forced some families to cut back on other everyday spending.

[00:03:03]But why does this matter?

[00:03:05]And why are we talking about this tonight? Primarily because this is not happening in a thriving economy. You see, China's growth is losing steam.

[00:03:12]And we are not the ones claiming it. The numbers tell the story. The economy expanded by just 4.3% in the second quarter. That was its slowest pace of growth in more than 3 years. On paper, exports continue to look strong. They jumped 27% in June from a year earlier.

[00:03:30]But that is only one side of the picture. At home, consumer spending remains weak. The property crisis has eroded household wealth.

[00:03:39]Now, what is that? For years, millions of Chinese families saw their homes as their biggest investment. But as the property market slowed, home values came under pressure. Many households felt less wealthy. So they cut back on spending, and at the same time, young Chinese are finding it harder to secure stable jobs. That has further weakened consumer confidence.

[00:04:02]And China is not the only country to experience eggflation. The United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan have all faced sharp price spikes in recent years.

[00:04:14]But for China, the price of an egg has become more than a food story. It has become a reminder that strong exports cannot compensate for weak demand at home.

[00:04:23]And that even the simplest item on a dinner table can expose the strength or the weakness of an economy.

[00:04:32]>> First Post reports from the world's second largest [music] continent.

[00:04:38]Hello, I'm Allison LaGrange. A very warm welcome from Durban, South Africa.

[00:04:44]We get you the news and the newsmakers from Africa.

[00:04:50]From elections to climate change, to innovations and opportunities.

[00:04:59]As the world's attention shifts, we report from Africa, the heart of the global south.

[00:05:07]Join me every weekday live on First Post.

[00:05:22]>> [music] [music] [music] >> The world moves fast. Power shifts, unexpected developments, [music] changing alliances. Every day brings a new headline.

[00:05:50]But headlines are only the beginning because behind every story [music] there is context. There are consequences and there are questions worth asking.

[00:06:02]Find the [music] answers. Understand the story. Take on the world.

[00:06:08]This is Him Kor Saroya for Firstpost Vantage.