Raising Egg Prices make Poultry producers Happy
It appears to be “eggsciting” times in the south with prices of eggs having gone through the roof. Poultry producers said it’s a combination of various factors at play. Reasons for the price rise include rising corn prices, lifting of ban on the export of eggs to Gulf countries (imposed following the bird flu scare) and the huge demand caused by the tri-weekly egg scheme of Tamil Nadu government to school children. At the retail level for instance, eggs are costing Rs 30 for a dozen and have risen 2-4% during the past two months.Globally, for instance, corn prices have been on the rise thanks to fall in production as well as diversion of corn for producing “ethanol” as crude prices crossed the $65 per barrel mark. US corn which was costing anywhere around $85-90 per tonne now costs over $130-137 per tonne all in a market of nine months a jump of 33%. Although the US is projected to have a production exceeding 300 million tonne that offers no solace as the landed price of imported (US) corn can well exceed $200 per tonne.
An official from National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), Namakkal zone, said the hatcheries in Namakkal are gearing up for an additional production of 70 lakh eggs a week to meet the demand. According to poultry sources, once the birds begin to lay eggs, roughly after three months, the demand will come down and so will the price. Poultry industry experts say that rising consumption (post the avian flu scare), prices are bound to rise. At the height of the avian flu scare egg prices had crashed and ruled around Rs 1.30-1.35 per egg down 31% from the cost of production.
Industry sources say that input costs have also risen during the last six to nine months and they don’t look like cooling off soon. “Feed costs account for about 70% of our total cost and the input for feeds like maize has risen by 25% to 30%,” sources added. What is likely to add more pressure on feed cost is the spell of wet weather that key producing centres like Gokak and Ghataprabha (in Karnataka) have witnessed in recent days. “One would have to adopt a wait and watch approach. The crop loss is not known in Maharashtra and Karnataka. If we have to go in for re-planting it would impact the availability thereby increasing the feed cost,” a Delhi-based poultry expert said.
