Both retail and wholesale egg prices have firmed up in Pune as lower supply hits the market. Lower production at the farm end and hoarding at the traders’ end are the reasons despite the cost of production remaining more or less static on a year-on-year basis, according to market sources.
As per the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), the price of 100 eggs in Pune for January is Rs 568.83. This translates into Rs 5.68/egg and Rs 68.12 per dozen for wholesale. In the retail market, a dozen eggs is now trading at Rs 80 with a single egg costing Rs 7. Last January, 100 eggs cost Rs 497.29 and a dozen for wholesale Rs 60. In the retail market, a dozen cost Rs 65-70.
While it is not unusual for egg prices to increase in the winter, this year the price rise was a tad bit on the higher side. Layer or egg-laying birds have a different cycle than the broiler or birds raised only for their meat. Layer birds start laying eggs after they reach five months of age and continue doing so for the next seven to ten months. On average, a layer bird lays around 330 eggs during its entire lifecycle after which a younger bird replaces it.
A city like Pune on average consumes 30 lakh eggs per day, which increases during the winter months. After an unusually warm December, January temperatures have fallen leading to increased demand for eggs. However, the industry, Prasanna Pedgaonkar, general manager of the Pune-headquartered poultry giant Venkateshwara Hatcheries (Venky’s) said, has kept production around 10-15 per cent on the lower side.
This is because of the past two years of a bad experience when during the winter months the demand had dipped due to the emergence of the Delta-triggered Covid-19 wave in 2021 and bird flu in 2022. “Thus, most farmers reduced their flock size which has affected production,” he said.
A temporary shortage due to traders controlling the supply has also contributed to the situation.