After eggsgerating Rs 80/dozen, price all set to cross Rs 100 soon

Bhopal: If you can’t do without eggs on a daily basis, you may soon have to rejig your kitchen expenses. With egg prices already at Rs 80 per dozen in the retail market, it may soon cross Rs 100. According to poultry owners, the high price is due to the high demand and low supply due to the lockdown.

After witnessing losses due to lockdown, the egg market has shot up in the past month. Poultry owners said that the demand has suddenly increased after unlocking began.

“Poultry business may appear easy from outside, but the fact is that it is a time-consuming process. It takes several months to get eggs. Due to lockdown, the chain of chicken and eggs broke. After unlocking started, the demand shot up,” said poultry owner and consultant Dr Mahendra Singh.

He added, “Now, there is a mismatch in demand and supply. This situation has resulted in increase in the price of eggs. This year, a dozen eggs may cross Rs 100.”
Poultry owners said that it will take 2-3 months to normalize the situation of mismatch in demand and supply. “It takes 5-6 months to prepare a bird to start laying eggs. It will take time,” said Dr Singh.

Egg vendors felt that the demand for eggs has increased in hospitals due to Covid-19. “Egg is one of the best sources of protein. There is huge demand in hospitals. This has also resulted in higher demand,” said an egg seller, Sachin.

During lockdown, eggs witnessed a decline in consumption. Initially, many people had stopped eating eggs because of rumour that Covid-19 might spread through poultry. “The state govt had been regularly clarifying that there was no harm in having eggs or chicken. Later, people realized that it was all rumour. Due to this reason, several poultry owners were hit and they stopped production. It will take time for them to get the eggs in the same quantity as it used to be before lockdown,” said Dr Singh.
Poultry owners say 8-10 lakh eggs are consumed per day in Bhopal alone.

Due to lockdown, poultry owners were not able to feed the birds due to which they had to kill them. “Around 60% farmers did it during lockdown. It was done as chicks started hurting each other as they could not feed them. In such a situation, poultry owners found it better to kill them,” explained a poultry owner.

Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA