Chennai: In a first, India Wednesday exported its first lot of table eggs to Malaysia which the south east Asian neighbhour was hoping to help weather the table egg shortage crisis out, a statement from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) said on Thursday.
The "first ever shipment of eggs" from Namakkal, Tamil Nadu to Malaysia was flown out from Tiruchirappalli Airport. Around 90000 eggs were sent on Dec. 14 and the consignment landed in Malaysia in the wee hours of Dec. 15. The exports are expected to continue once the trial shipment is approved and accepted by Malaysians, said APEDA regional head Shobana Kumar.
APEDA said the Malaysian Agriculture and Food Security Minister approached the Indian Embassy at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia seeking to import Indian eggs to their country as Malaysia has been facing a shortage of table eggs for the past few months. In sequel, the High Commissioner of India at Kuala Lumpur shot off a letter to the Union Government on Dec. 12.
The letter detailed the shortage of eggs in Malaysia and their interest in importing the same from India. Also, chicken and eggs are part of the staple food in Malaysia. Therefore, the shortage was considered as a serious food security issue by the Malaysian Government. APEDA and the Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) expedited the certification process ensuring zero delay in processing the first trial batch from Namakkal.
