Farmgate prices of eggs in Namakkal surged to a record high of ₹5.65 a piece on Friday on buoyant exports, higher input costs and increased offtake in North India due to a cold wave sweeping the region.
However, the rates dropped by 30 paise on Monday. On Sunday, prices zoomed to ₹6.15 in Kolkata and ₹6.06 in Mumbai.
C Panneerselvam of Abi Egg Traders said the hype around exports is dying down as Qatar is already facing a glut and shipments to the Gulf nation have hit the pause button.
Usually austere Tamil months from Karthigai – Thai (November-January) see demand slacking due to the Sabarimala season. But this has been offset by rising export demand. The FIFA World Cup that ended in Qatar recently kicked off a strong demand for eggs from the Namakkal region, the hub of egg production.
Demand from Qatar
At least 4 crore eggs were exported to the Gulf nation during the mega event. Ukraine and Turkey were hitherto the key exporters to the Gulf countries. But the Ukraine war has hindered the supply of eggs, putting India at an advantage.
This was followed by Malaysia importing 90,000 eggs in December from the town for the first time with the help of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA).
“Yes, in the case of Malaysia, there are opportunities and there is a huge market. But prices are unviable. Malaysia pays us just ₹4.65 a piece, whereas we get more than that in our home market itself,” Panneerselvam said.
A NECC spokesperson told businessline that the industry is awaiting more orders from Malaysia.
K Singaraj, President of Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association, said, “We are facing some issues with certification and are planning to meet APEDA officials soon in this regard. Once the certification issues are settled, that will open up new markets such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka among others.”
Tamil Nadu houses nearly 1,100 poultry farms of which 700 are in the Namakkal region which produces around 4.5 crore eggs a day. Overall, the country produces around 30 crore eggs a day.
As consumption has increased, especially after the Covid pandemic, the nodal body has kept farmgate prices at an elevated level.