Hyderabad: Egg prices in Hyderabad have climbed to Rs 8-9 apiece, an unusually high level for July, a month that typically sees subdued demand and softer prices, with poultry farmers attributing the spike to rising feed costs, disease-related losses and higher transportation expenses.

Industry representatives said egg prices normally firm up in winter, when demand rises, and the current spurt in the middle of the monsoon season has caught both consumers and traders off guard.

Feed costs push up production expenses

Hyderabad-based poultry farmer M Srinivas Reddy said a sharp rise in feed prices had significantly pushed up production costs. Soyabean prices have gone up from around Rs 35 to Rs 68 a kg, while maize prices have risen from Rs 20 to Rs 28 a kg over the past few months, he told Siasat.com.

A layer bird consumes around 100 to 115 grams of feed a day, and a farm with one lakh birds needs more than 10 tonne of feed daily, Reddy said, adding that a Rs 10 per kg increase in feed cost alone adds nearly Rs 1 lakh to the daily operating expenses of such a farm.

“It is a chain reaction. Higher diesel prices increase the cost of transporting feed and eggs, and the higher logistics costs are eventually reflected in retail egg prices,” he said.

Disease outbreaks hit output

Another poultry farmer, P Senthil, told Siasat.com that viral infections had forced several farms to cull birds, leading to a fall in egg production. He said the industry would need nearly two months to restore normal production levels, since replacement birds take time to mature before they start laying.

Retailers said wholesale prices have risen steadily over the past few weeks, leaving them with little choice but to pass on the increase to consumers, and expect prices to stay firm until production improves and feed costs stabilise.

With eggs being an affordable source of protein for many households, the price rise has come as an unwelcome surprise in a month that has traditionally been among the cheapest for eggs.