April 16, 2012

Poultry prices are declining due to the increase of stocks as a result of Oman's ban India's poultry imports.

According to reports, the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), Namakkal zone, has effected a 15-paise cut in egg prices from last week's INR2.30 (US$0.04) a piece.

Oman imports one-third of poultry exports from India, around 2 crore eggs a month. The poultry industry finds it difficult to clear this backlog of eggs every day that had been caused by the ban and fear it could lead to further drop in prices of this perishable commodity. Hence, to perk up domestic consumption and to avoid building up inventories during summer, the industry has switched over to price-slashing.

Exporters fear that Oman's move may worsen their business prospects further. "With table eggs and other poultry products already going off the menu in many Gulf nations, we turned our focus towards new markets such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, West African countries such as Monrovia, Angola, Free Town," an exporter told Business Line. Namakkal accounts for nearly 95% of egg exports.

Drop in egg price in summer is quite expected and it is effected as to be in line with the price of other NECC zones across the country, as the rising mercury has resulted in reduced consumption, according to Mr P. Selvaraj ,Chairman, NECC, Namakkal zone.

Consumption in Tamil Nadu and other States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kerala - major markets for TN's shell egg and broiler trade - has started to pick up slowly with the austere festivities coming to an end.

Meanwhile, price of layer birds inched up a tad by INR1 (US$0.02) to INR35 (US$0.68) per kilogramme to cater to the rise in demand for animal protein during summer. The Broiler Coordination Committee has trimmed the prices of cull birds by INR5 (US$0.10) per kilogramme to INR58 (US$1.12) per kilogramme.