HYDERABAD: The price of eggs has touched `5.35 in the city and is expected to remain so till December end due to a fluctuation in demand and supply. This is the highest it has ever touched in the last four years in the city.The rise in prices, however, has not yet pushed prices up for egg-based products sold in the city. The price rise has also to do with the 5 per cent GST on oil cakes used as an ingredient in chicken feed. Though prices have gone up, unlike the agricultural sector, the poultry farmers are reaping the benefits of the price rise, say poultry associations.
A quick look at the National Egg Coordination Committee’s day wise rate change for eggs suggests that the prices were on an upward trend from mid-October. “The trends will extend into December,” said Sanjeev Chintawar, member of Telangana Poultry Breeders Association and NECC. The present wholesale price of `535 per 100 eggs for November in 2017 is the highest eggs have costed for an average Hyderabadi, suggests the NECC data.
“But the average egg prices for 2017 is `345.22 which is still lower than the 2016 figure of `358.82,” said Chintawar. Poultry breeders said, “We have been facing losses of `150 per bird for past few years. With less money coming in, our investment also drops and subsequently our production too,” said Mustafa, owner of Fathima poultry.