Egg price soars to Rs 6 as production drops in Namakkal

COIMBATORE: The farm gate price of eggs soared to an all-time high of Rs 6 per piece in the poultry hub of Namakkal.

The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) on Sunday fixed the procurement price of eggs at Rs 6 per piece, up by five paise from Rs 5.95 on Saturday in the Namakkal Zone. It was Rs 5.40 on November 1.

Such a steep rise in its farm gate price has, in turn, pushed the retail price of eggs to Rs 7 and above. Tamil Nadu Egg Poultry Farmers Marketing Society president Vangili Subramaniam attributed the price rise to a steep drop in egg production by up to 15 per cent. It’s also usual for egg production to drop in the winter season.

The production has gone down by more than 70 lakh eggs per day, out of the total seven crore eggs produced normally in Namakkal.

“We anticipate egg prices to increase further marginally in the coming days, when demand soars ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Last year on December 4, ahead of the festive season, the farm gate price of eggs remained at Rs 5.90 paise,” said R Soundarajan, a poultry farmer.

Poultry farmers say that a drop in the quality of poultry feed, mainly mice procured from Karnataka, has taken a toll on egg production. “Because of continuous rains, the mice sourced from the neighbouring state remain wet and infected by fungus, thereby affecting egg production,” they say.

Besides an increase in demand from northern Indian states, the export market also remains robust for poultry farmers.

“From around 50 lakh eggs daily, the exports have increased to 60 lakh eggs, mainly to the Middle East and other countries. It will be a boon for poultry farmers if the government facilitates further egg export to America, where a total of 1.5 crore eggs have been sent so far,” Vangili Subramaniam said.