Improving Egg Production at Aviara de Honduras

Aviara de Honduras is a small egg production company based out of San Pedro Sula in Honduras, though we also have locations in Copán Ruinas and Tegucigalpa. In San Pedro Sula, competition in the egg industry is high, and as the company’s general manager, I was searching for a way to increase our sales and make a greater impact in the regional market. In August 2014, we contacted the CESO representatives in Honduras and requested a volunteer to help us diversify our products, develop a marketing strategy and advise on optimal egg production techniques.

In October 2014, Mr. Arthur Allen came to Honduras for the first time to visit us at Aviara. Mr. Allen is an expert in the Canadian egg industry and a representative of Burnbrae Farms. Once he had visited our three production and distribution locations and familiarized himself with the company, he advised us on many opportunities for improvement. He noted that the old age of our birds could be affecting our egg quality, and commented on the low efficiency at our operation in Tegucigalpa. He also recommended we classify our eggs by weight, and suggested we begin fortifying eggs with Omega-3 and enter the enriched egg industry to turn a larger profit. My team and I took Mr. Allen’s advice seriously, and we benefitted greatly from his knowledge of the egg industry.

At the end of his stay in Honduras, Mr. Allen surprised us with an invitation to visit him at Burnbrae Farms, to see first-hand how the egg production industry works in Canada. It took several months to obtain a Canadian travel visa, but in June 2015 we finally touched down in Montreal and began our tour of the Burnbrae Farms production facilities. We visited production and packaging plants, egg-breaking and pasteurization facilities and hard-boiled egg operations. At every site, the Canadian experts were happy to share their experience and knowledge. It was a fascinating experience.

Our visit to Canada was eye-opening, and we were able to see the huge gap between the Honduran and Canadian economies. The facilities we visited had state-of-the-art technology and machinery, while at Aviara de Honduras, most of our processes are done manually. We also noticed that the price of egg products in Canada is much higher than in Honduras, and the Canadian egg production companies make greater profits. Our visit inspired us to take every possible opportunity to add value to our fresh eggs.

Once we got back to Honduras, we set ourselves to work making the improvements recommended by Mr. Allen and the experts at Burnbrae Farms. Currently, we are in the process of importing and installing some used equipment from Canada. Though this equipment is old by Canadian standards, for us it is a huge technology upgrade. We plan to set up a small plant to process liquid egg, which is a new product for the company. We are also upgrading the mill where we produce feed for our hens to be more cost-effective. We are still intimidated by the electromechanical elements of the new project, but we know that with help from CESO volunteers we will achieve our goals.