December 24, 2013

India's egg price up nearly 47% in last five years

India's wholesale rates of eggs have gone up by nearly 47% in the last five years, according to prices listed on the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) website.

In the last one year alone, eggs have become pricier by 16%. While the average wholesale price of 100 eggs was around US$3.64 in 2009, it has increased to US$5.36 at the end of 2013. At the same time, the prices of eggs have seen an increase of 30% as compared to the rates prevalent during the month of December last year.

When prices for the month of December are considered, the price has gone by nearly 60% over the last five years. While the average wholesale rate was hovering around the US$3.83 mark in 2009, it has increased to US$6.38 in the current year in the month of December. Also, egg prices have been steadily increasing during the last four months, with rates climbing from an average of US$5.14 in August this year.

According to an NECC source, the increasing rates can be attributed mainly to rising feed cost. "The feed for hens mainly consists of corn, soy, sunflower, corn bran and fishmeal. Its prices have been rising by around 25% to 30% every year. So farmers are actually not able to reap any profits even though egg prices are increasing. In fact, a large number of farmers are worried that if the input costs keep increasing, they might have to shut down poultry farms by next year," he said.

While the purchase price for shopkeepers comes to around US$0.06-0.07 per egg, retail outlets are selling at US$0.08 per egg.