Farm-gate egg cost up Rs 1 in TN’s Namakkal

NAMAKKAL: The retail price of an egg has risen to Rs 7 as the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) on Friday revised the farm-gate price in Namakkal to Rs 5.60 from Rs 4.60.

Namakkal, often referred to as “Egg City,” is home to over 1,300 poultry farms employing thousands of workers and producing 5.5 crore eggs daily. These eggs are distributed across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, and exported to the Middle East. Additionally, more than 40 lakh eggs from Namakkal are supplied to the Noon-Meal Scheme. The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) sets the wholesale prices based on supply and demand.

M Selvam, a poultry farmer, shared his concerns with TNIE, stating, “We faced losses following the closure of schools for summer holidays in March as egg deliveries to schools halted and high temperatures reduced consumption. It was difficult to manage the labour costs.”

In April, the wholesale price dropped to Rs 4.20. However, with the onset of rain in May, the price went up to Rs 4.60 on June 7 and rose sharply to Rs 5.60 on Friday. Consequently, retail prices range from Rs 6.50 to Rs 7.

The Namakkal Poultry Farmers Marketing Society President, V Subramaniyam, told TNIE, “Labour problems were significant when prices were low, and it was tough to follow the low costs set by the NECC. With schools reopening on June 10 and the upcoming Eid al-Adah festival, the demand is expected to grow further. The wholesale price may touch Rs 6 this month.”

Officials from the Salem and Namakkal Social Welfare Departments told TNIE, “Egg is provided to government school students under the Noon-Meal Scheme on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We need 90,000 eggs for Salem and 85,950 eggs for Namakkal each day. There has been no disruption in procuring them so far.”