Recognizing the huge number of 7 million eggs it generates daily, Senator Cynthia Villar sought to declare the town of San Jose in the province of Batangas as the “Egg Basket of the Philippines.”
Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on Agriculture and Food, filed Senate Bill No. 2044 to formalize her proposal.
In her proposed measure, Villar cited a Philippine Statistics Authority report showing that of the 49,090 metric tons of eggs coming from the Calabarzon region per quarter, 705 metric tons of eggs are from San Jose on a daily basis.
The Batangas Egg Producers Association said as of June 2020, there are more than 342 registered independent poultry growers in San Jose.
Egg production in San Jose started as a backyard industry during the 60s.
Over time, egg farmers from the town evolved into agri-entrepreneurs through the help of innovative practices.
Amid the challenges, including the oversupply of eggs in 2009, egg farmers of the town developed new products such as like liquid and frozen eggs.
In 2017, when the industry was hit by bird flu, BEPCO partnered with the University of the Philippines-Diliman and the Department of Science and Technology to develop egg white powder which is ideal for baking cakes and breads as well as for making mayonnaise and meringue.
San Jose, a first class municipality, celebrates “World Egg Day” annually during the month of October to spur egg consumption in the country and to enhance the industry’s production and marketing efficiency.
In 2016, the town attempted to set a Guinness record for the longest line of fresh chicken eggs in trays with around 6,000 eggs placed along the 2-km stretch of Macalintal Avenue.