Egg prices move north by 15-30% on output decline

Egg prices have moved up by 15-30 per cent in various parts of the country in May primarily due to a decline in production. Prices are expected to move up by a minimum 5 per cent in the coming months.

"Normally, the country produces 10-12 crore eggs daily. This is down by 20-25 per cent primarily due to a lower than normal replacement rate of birds, which means that old birds have been culled without replacing them with new ones. The cost of maize, the primary feed of poultry, is high at Rs 8.50 a kilo compared with Rs 6.50 last year," said B R Sainath, Karnataka zonal chairman of National Egg Coordination Committee.

People are also moving from the high priced vegetables to eggs, thereby boosting demand. Egg prices are likely to move up by at least 5 per cent in the coming months, added Sainath.

Since May 1, wholesale prices in Delhi have gone up from Rs 145 (for 100 eggs) to Rs 185, in Mumbai from Rs 160 to 195, in Kolkata from Rs 155 to Rs 200, in Chennai from Rs 170 to Rs 200, in Hyderabad from Rs 140 to 170 and in Bangalore from Rs 165 to Rs 190.

"The country has about 160 million laying birds. Of them, about 115 million birds need to be replaced every year as their laying cycle ends. However, due to bird flu last year, the replacement level has gone down to 90-95 million birds and, therefore, the production has declined," A K Rajput, executive officer of Suguna Poultry.

Moreover, birds are also dying due to diseases whose vaccines are not available in the country. "We are losing 10-15 per cent birds due to chronic respiratory diseases. If we could import these vaccines, at least these birds could be saved," said Rajput.