Record hike in egg prices in Telangana

Hyderabad: For the first time in the state, the price of an egg shot past Rs 6 following a jump in the wholesale market prices, and the reason for it was low supply of eggs, coupled with 20 to 25 per cent increase in demand in the wake of spurt in prices of vegetables.

While the phenomena have pushed the consumers to a corner, who were already down in the dumps due to a sharp spike in vegetable prices, the poultry industry which had been going through a rough patch for the last three years appeared buoyant. The price of an egg, which was hovering around Rs 4.50 for the last few weeks, has on Monday soared to a highest retail price of Rs 6, the highest price, according to industry sources. The price in the wholesale market is Rs 4.82 an egg.

According to the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), the layer poultry farming in Telangana State has the capacity of producing around 3.25 crore eggs a day, of which 1.80 crore eggs are consumed locally, the rest is being exported to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar etc. It may be noted here that layers are chickens reared for eggs.

 

It’s learnt that consumption of eggs witnessed a notable



increase as it is the cheapest source of protein. Moreover, the spurt in vegetable prices led to the demand for eggs.

The prevailing cold wave conditions also brought down the production of eggs. It may be noted here that egg laying is largely dependent on the length of the day. If the daylight is fewer than 12 hours, the laying will come down.

“The production has come down by 20 per cent this season due to closure of some units, drop in temperature and discard of older layers. The production will be back on track in January when the new batch of layers start laying eggs,” the NECC Warangal zone chairman and TS Poultry Federation president Errabelli Pradeep Rao told The Hans India.

The price rise would help the cause of poultry industry which has been in doldrums for various reasons such as 5 per cent GST on oil cake diet, he said, stating that prices are expected to come down in a couple of months. The farm price of eggs per 100 is Rs 4.88 in Hyderabad and Rs 4.90 in Warangal.V Sathish Kumar, a retailer in Kumarpally market of Hanamkonda, said that sale of eggs dropped considerably due to increase in price, though we are offering at Rs 5.50 an egg.