14ymedio, Havana, December 1, 2023 — The Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) announced that it will soon begin exporting fresh eggs to Cuba. Negotiations with Havana began in July, the entity explained in a statement, but they needed approval from the Island’s National Center for Animal Health, which finally gave the green light to the purchase.
“We are pleased to announce this important news for the poultry sector, which will bring great benefits to the national economy, job creation and the transformation of the Colombian countryside,” said Juan Fernando Roa, manager of the ICA.
The official also welcomed the approval of the relevant certifications for the shipment of food, which require that Colombia keep its data updated with the World Organization for Animal Health, that it be a territory free of avian influenza and Newcastle disease, two diseases with high level of contagion that can damage both the life and production of birds and which are transmitted to humans. Likewise, breeding farms where eggs are collected are required to be under official veterinary control.
In Havana, a thirty-unit carton of eggs costs around 3,000 pesos, a figure that exceeds the average monthly salary.
In Colombia, an egg has a price of 581 Colombian pesos, which is equivalent to 14 cents USD or 37 Cuban pesos. Although the value is only a third of the 100 pesos that a unit can cost on the Island, it is likely that the cost of importing will increase i
