Eggs become cheaper suddenly

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Poultry units seem to be the first casualties of summer. Decreased consumption in northern and eastern markets of India has hit sale of eggs which in turn has resulted in a sudden drop in prices. From Rs 3 last week, an egg costs Rs 2.21 now, the lowest this season.

“With the onset of summer, consumption of eggs in northern and eastern states dip which in turn affects the sales here,” says Mr A. Mohan Reddy, National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) zonal chairman, Chennai. North and eastern India markets put together consume 9 crore eggs per day of which about 4 crore is supplied by southern states.

Decreased demand has resulted in a dip in sales of about 10-15 per cent in these markets. This has resulted in excess stocks which has had a spiralling impact on prices.

Another major factor adding to the slump in prices is the onset of summer vacation in schools in Tamil Nadu that implement the noon-meal scheme, supplying two eggs a day per child. “Vacations have cut down our supply to schools by 50 per cent,” complained the industry official. About 35-40 lakh eggs a day are supplied exclusively to schools for the scheme.

On the export front too, egg producers are facing problems with a ban on Indian eggs following bird flu outbreak in Orissa and Tirupur.

Inventories had piled up after Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai and Oman had banned the entry of Indian eggs in December, 2011, resulting in a backlog of almost 1.5-2 crore eggs every day. This too is reported to have added to the price slump.

According to NECC, India usually exports 150 containers of eggs, of which one-third, around 2 crore eggs a month, go to Oman alone.

This apart, feed costs too have been on the upswing as farmers seem to prefer export markets than domestic ones. “During last month alone, soya prices have shot up by aboutRs 6 per kilo while maize prices have risen by Rs 2 per kg,” an NECC spokesperson said.