Why are eggs and chicken priced so high?
Posted on: 17/Nov/2017 2:17:49 PM
As you have altered your monthly budget abiding by the new additions and extra charges imposed after GST, here is one more transition required with the increasing prices of eggs that have raised to more than Rs. 5 per piece.
In the northern states, there is uptick in demand as winter sets in. Tamil Nadu, having been facing devastating effects of drought, and with the ban on beef, there is uptick of prices of chicken and eggs.
Poultry farmers at Namakkal district which is a hub for poultry framing and egg production are now relaxed as the price of egg is fixed at Rs 5.16 per piece on Thursday. The National Egg Coordination Committee has fixed the price, to note. According to NECC sources, the egg rates have gone beyond Rs 5 for the very first time in the entire poultry industry and NECC. This sudden uptick is definitely going to hit the industry, they add.
Egg demand is increasing in the northern states because of winter. This stands as one of the reasons for hike in price, said the president of Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association. The Namakkal poultry farmers divert over 5 lakh eggs are being diverted to the north India, and there is increase in egg consumption in the state, he further said. Throughout winter, the demand in north India will keep raising, he added.
In the past few years, the poultry farmers in Namakkal are facing a lot of troubles due to varied reasons like poor rainfall, demonetization, ban on beef, and so on. Maintaining the birds has turned to be challenging, and hence, they have started selling them for meat. This has also reflected in the egg production. It is based on the egg demand that the wholesale egg rate is fixed.
Ban on beef consumption could be among the major reasons for the hike in price of eggs, and dip in production. The farmers have been selling the layer birds at about 80 weeks, but have now started selling 50-week old ones so as to meet the chicken demand.
Top officials from NECC say the poultry farmers get all sorts of support to obtain nominal profit, as there is increase in demand. The farmers are always being backed in every way, they add.
Compared to price of eggs in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, the price in Namakkal is lesser. In Mysore, the rate is Rs 5.40, in Mumbai, it is Rs 5.70, in Kolkata, it is Rs 5.62 and in New Delhi, it is Rs 5.67, to note.
