November 29, 2013

With the onset of winter, Pakistan's egg prices continue to soar, as one dozen of eggs are being sold for PKR118 rupees (US$1.10) in the wholesale market, while in retail shops the price ranges between PKR122 and PKR125 (US$1.13 and US$1.15) per dozen.

Eggs were sold at the rate of PKR88 (US$0.81) per dozen a week ago but in a span of seven days, egg prices soared by PKR30 (US$0.28) in the wholesale market and PKR34 to PKR37 (US$0.31 to US$0.34) at retail shops. Similarly, restaurants are selling boiled eggs for PKR16 (US$0.15) against PKR15 (US$0.14) and a fried eggs for PKR20 (US$0.18) against PKR16 (US$0.15).

Rawalpindi Egg Wholesale Dealers Association General Secretary Amjad Abbasi said that egg prices have increased because of a wide gap between supply and demand in the winter season and that eggs are not locally produced and all poultry farms are located in far-off areas incurring huge transportation costs.

People belonging to different walks of life said that every year wholesale dealers increase rates of egg by 100%. The majority of families eat eggs for breakfast, particularly in the winter season but due to high prices, the majority of the population cannot afford it, they said.

Additional District Collector General (ADGC) Muhammad Ali Randhawa admitted that prices of eggs are continuously soaring at retail shops. He told The News that they were visiting markets for taking strict action against profiteers to control price hike.