Egg prices touch Rs 5.5 apiece but poultry farmers not happy
DHARMAPURI: Thanks to increased demand and rising input cost, the price of egg increased by 50 paise from Rs 5 on Monday, the all time high in Tamil Nadu. Poultry farmers, however, said the hike is not enough as cost of production has increased by many fold.
Namakkal is one of the key poultry markets in South India, and produces over 75% of eggs produced in the state. It has over 6 crores of birds and produces crores of eggs annually. However, over the past few years, the market conditions have been unstable due to the increasing cost of raw materials.
Singaraja, president of the Tamil Nadu Kozhi Pannai Sangam, said, “The price of an egg has been increased by 5 paise. However, the hike has not relieved burden on poultry farmers. The prices of feed, vaccines and maize have all increased in the past few years.
Further after accounting for the rise in diesel prices, electricity bill, and labour charges there is no profits. A single egg production costs between Rs 4.80 and Rs 5. Hence the price hike is insufficient. The state government must introduce schemes to subsidize the raw material for poultry farmers to keep prices in check or there is a risk of egg production reducing due to closing of farms.”
President of the Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association, Vangli Subramanian said, “During winter, intake of chicken increases by 10%. Usually, we feed 110 gm of feed, but now we are feeding 120 gm along with maize, and pearl millet among others. One kg of feed costs about Rs 30 while maize costs about Rs 24, and soya costs Rs 110. A few years ago the raw materials were cheaper by 35% to 40 %.”
“Recently Tamil Nadu has been exporting eggs to Malaysia at a cost of Rs 4.70 per egg. Middlemen have been buying eggs for low prices and making massive profits. The Tamil Nadu government must step in and hold a meeting with poultry farmers and introduce new schemes,” Vangli added.
Manager of the National Egg Coordination Committee, Balasubramaniam said, “The egg price on Monday is the highest ever in the wholesale market and this is due to the increasing demand across the country.”
Egg capital of TN
Namakkal produces over 75% of eggs produced in the state. It has over 6 crore birds and produces crore of eggs annually