KATHMANDU: Egg traders have increased the support price of eggs following a rise in market demand.
The Nepal Layers Poultry Farmers Association has increased the support price, effective from today.
According to the association, the support price for XL eggs has been fixed at Rs 560 per crate of 30 eggs. The price for large eggs has been set at Rs 545 per crate, while medium eggs will cost Rs 500 per crate.
The support price for small eggs has been fixed at Rs 3,000 per box, which contains seven crates.
Association Chairperson Binod Pokharel said demand for eggs has increased significantly after bird flu infections subsided and poultry production declined following the deaths of a large number of chickens.
He said the revised support prices were set based on the rates provided by poultry farms.
Despite the price increase, however, farmers are still unable to recover their production costs, Pokharel said.
According to the association, the production cost of an egg is around Rs 19.12 per piece, which comes to Rs 573.60 per crate of 30 eggs.
Poultry farmers have suffered significant losses due to bird flu in recent years. Business operators say many farmers have started leaving the profession after failing to receive prices sufficient to cover production costs.
They said declining production and recurring poultry diseases have increasingly forced farmers to depend on bank loans to sustain their businesses.
Pokharel said some farmers recently lost large numbers of chickens due to bird flu, while others suffered substantial losses because they were unable to receive fair prices for their eggs.
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