HYDERABAD: For the people who have already been burdened with soaring prices of vegetables and meat, eggs may give another shock as its price would also see a northward shift soon.
While the wholesale price of egg in Hyderabad, according to National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), is Rs 4.14, end consumers are shelling out Rs 5 per egg right now. However, poultry industry representatives say they would have to increase the prices further if the business has to be made viable.
"Right now poultry businessmen are selling eggs at wholesale price of about Rs 4.35. However, we have to sell at a wholesale price of Rs 5 to avoid losses," said Errabelli Pradeep Kumar Rao, president of Telangana Poultry Federation (TPF).
While poultry business owners are complaining about increasing production cost, consumers are expected to shell out more as the poultry industry wants to transfer the burden of increasing production cost to the end user.
According to the prices declared by NECC farm gate (wholesale) price of egg has increased from Rs 3.95 in January to Rs 4.14 in July. The prices are going to increase further in the near future.
"Most of the poultry farms are run by small and marginal poultry farmers who run them as self-employment. For them the huge production costs, especially increasing cost of feed like maize and soya, prove a heavy blow. There is no option other than increasing the price of egg, if poultry farmers have to survive," Pradeep Kumar added.
TPF, Telangana Poultry Breeders Association (TPBA), and National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) jointly held a meeting here on Saturday to discuss about the present scenario of poultry sector and decided to create awareness about the problems being faced by poultry sector among people and the government, to ensure that price hike in the future does not lead to disappointment among consumers.
Meanwhile, TBF and NECC urged poultry farmers from across the state to inform the quantity of maize needed by each farm by calling on 8977000558, so as to assess the demand for the entire state and import the same.
The Union government has exempted tax on import of maize to the extent to five lakh tonnes for poultry industry, as maize is an important fodder for industry and keep its price in control.