GULF WAR ECHOES CRACK EGGS IN POULTRY HEARTLAND GANJAM
Senior, Correspondent
Berhampur,( 27/-3/26):In the quiet poultry heartland of Ganjam, where dawn once tc broke to the rhythm of clucking hens and the promise of golden harvests, an unseen storm—brewing far beyond India’s shores—has begun to fracture the fragile shell of the region’s egg economy.
The Ganjam Layers Farmers Association is a collective body of poultry farmers primarily engaged in layer farming (egg production) in the Ganjam district of Odisha. This region, especially around Berhampur, is widely known as a major hub for poultry and egg production in eastern India. The association typically consists of small, medium, and large-scale layer poultry farmers of a total of 64 farms.
Farm owners involved in commercial egg production. Ganjam produces 50 lakhs eggs per day. However, consumption in the district is only 10 percent of the total produced. The surplus eggs supplied to other parts of entire Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and North Eastern states.
However, the production of eggs is 1.1 crore daily in Odisha and the state is self-sufficient in egg production. The per capita consumption of eggs in Odisha is 82 per annum which is far below the recommended 180, highlighting both a consumption gap and structural inefficiencies.
No eggs from Odisha were exported to Gulf countries and the escalating conflict in West Asia is not affecting our market directly.
However, the West Asia war has triggered shock in poultry export chain in Telugu states and Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh is a surplus state in egg production and produces 5 crore eggs every day. Half of the eggs were consumed locally and the rest transported to other states and abroad including UAE, Oman and Qatar. Normally more than 50 lakh eggs were exported daily from India to Gulf countries from Telugu states and Tamil Nadu. As West Asia war disrupts egg export and shipment to Gulf countries abruptly stalled, the egg prices tumbling across major production hubs and the prices of eggs dropped due to surplus eggs in domestic market. Odisha also suffered from this setback with huge amount of eggs flooded the domestic market from Andhra Pradesh. In Andhra the wholesale price per one egg has fallen from Rs4-30 to Rs 3-50. Retail price in Andhra dropped to Rs 8 from Rs 10 per egg.
Andhra now dumping 10 to 11 truck load of eggs (each truck having 2.30 lakh eggs) in Odisha after the West Asia war broke out.
However the mechanism in fixation of competitive price of eggs on daily basis for Odisha eggs to counter the flow from other states, has dropped the rate of eggs in Odisha, said Suvendu Kumar Sahu President Ganjam Layers Farmers Association.
A tray of 30 eggs sold at Rs160 in January last in Odisha prior to the West Asia war, now trades Rs 125. The wholesale price per egg dropped from Rs5-30 to Rs 4-15. Similarly, the retail price dropped from Rs 6-50 to Rs 5, said Suvendu Kumar Sahu President Ganjam Layers Farmers Association.
The surplus eggs from Andhra Pradesh to Odisha after the West Asia war, has pushed Odisha to a market war between the two states by lowring the price tag so that Andhra eggs cannot dominate Odisha market, said Suvendu.
The state government must come forward for the rescue of the poultry farmers of Odisha.
The percapita consumption of 82 eggs per annum in Odisha is very negligible against the recommended 182 eggs. We must give more weight age on higher consumption of eggs in Odisha as we are self sufficient.
