MANILA - Egg prices may go up despite a stable supply in the country, an agricultural sector stakeholder told a hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food Wednesday morning.

Arnulfo Frontuna, chairperson for Livestock under the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, said this was due to the high cost of inputs.

Frontuna said the cost of corn, soya, and other feed ingredients have been rising.

Apart from this, transport problems may also affect supplies as some towns restrict the transit of poultry due to fears that these may be carrying diseases.

"Ang problema lang natin dito, is yung supply chain kasi may mga areas tayo na binabawal ng mga local government yung transport," Frontuna said.

He added that while he understands the concerns of some local governments, measures should be put in place to address supply chain woes.

"Kasi kung hindi magkakaroon po ng shortage ng supply sa bawat probinsiya, depende kung magiging masyado silang mahigpit. So kailangan natin pag-aralan, kailangan natin pag-aralan yan napakahalaga po niyan." Frontuna added.

Egg prices have been rising since late last year with producers blaming this on the high cost of feeds.

Last month, an egg industry stakeholder also said several egg producers with limited capital suspended their operations after incurring losses due to overproduction last year.

Egg producers are also worried over possible losses due to bird flu infection.

Inflation surged to a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January, partly due to elevated prices of select food items.

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