Aegean Fisheries Exporters Association/Crete: The $1.5 fund imposed on eggs is a hasty decision that will halt exports.

Foreks - Bedri Girit, President of the Aegean Seafood and Animal Products Exporters Association, described the recent increase of the egg export cut from 50 cents to $1.50 as a hasty decision that would severely damage egg exports. Girit emphasized that the initial 50-cent cut was shared with them as a "special measure for Ramadan," and they expected it to be lifted after the month. Before the cut, they exported 160-200 trucks of eggs weekly, which plummeted to 20-30 trucks afterward. He warned that the cut made exporting eggs nearly impossible, suggesting that only exporters willing to incur losses could manage a mere 5 trucks.

Girit also noted that despite the introduction of the 50-cent fund, egg prices did not fall. He explained that demand usually drives up prices in the last week of Ramadan and decreases afterward. The current increase in temperatures leads to higher egg production, meaning prices would drop even without the $1.50 cut. He called for better regulation of supermarkets profiting from high prices instead of imposing restrictive export measures.