New Year holiday closure causes temporary drop in egg prices, industry says

By Mangala Pavithrani

Colombo, April 23 (Daily Mirror) - The closure of shops and bakeries during the Sinhala and Hindu New Year period has led to a temporary decline in egg prices, Egg Producers Association Treasurer Wijaya Alwis said.

Speaking to Daily Mirror, he said the situation was due to a slowdown in egg distribution and wholesale market activity between April 12 and April 20.

He said that with a daily production of around 9 to 10 million eggs, nearly 80 million eggs had accumulated at farms over the past eight days as they could not be supplied to the market.

Before the New Year, the price of an egg ranged between Rs. 35 and Rs. 36. However, by April 20, prices had dropped to around Rs. 31 to Rs. 32.

Due to excess stock, eggs are now being purchased from producers at about Rs. 28, he added.

Alwis highlighted that there has been no increase in production, but rather a buildup of unsold stock caused by reduced market activity during the holiday period.

He also pointed out that there is a daily shortfall of around 500,000 eggs, as some producers have stopped operations due to economic difficulties.

With schools reopening and urban markets returning to normal from April 20, he said egg supplies are expected to stabilise within a week, while price fluctuations are likely to ease by next month.