By KYIV. Oct 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Purchase prices at tenders for chicken eggs by October 27 stabilized at the level of UAH 60.10 per 10 pieces, which is 1 percentage point (pp) higher than this indicator on October 20, which, in turn, grew compared with October 13 by 3 p.p.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on Friday, a sharp rise in the price of eggs over the past two months was caused by an increase in seasonal demand, as well as a significant reduction in the number of chickens, a drop in production due to hostilities and the shutdown of some enterprises in the industry due to Russian aggression.
At the beginning of the war, poultry enterprises partially suspended the incubation of eggs to obtain young birds, but now producers are gradually restoring the poultry population to ensure demand and stabilize the market.
"Tentatively, by the end of the year, at least around 6.5 million birds will be bred, which is 35-40% more compared to their number in September. 150 days (five months) pass from the moment of breeding to the start of full-fledged egg laying. We can expect the price to drop to economically viable. We have reached a price plateau, and when the number of laying hens increases, we expect a price reduction," Taras Vysotsky, deputy minister, was quoted by the ministry as saying.
The ministry said that from the beginning of September 2022 to October 27, chicken eggs have risen in price on average in Ukraine by 2.07 times – from UAH 29.91 per 10 pcs. to UAH 62.01 per 10 pcs., while the largest increase of 16% over this period was observed from September 30 to October 7.
According to the ministry, the largest decline in egg production was recorded in April 2022 – to 3.78 billion eggs, which is 17.3% less than in April 2021. From May 2022, the decline in their production reached a plateau, and starting from July, the decline slightly accelerated (by 0.7 percentage points). In September, the rate of decline decreased, according to the results of January-September 2022, 9.29 million eggs were produced, which is 15.7% less compared to January-September 2021.
As reported, on October 20, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) launched an investigation into the rise in prices for chicken eggs, for which it will analyze all the factors influencing business entities in the industry on the pricing of this product.
The Committee said that the increase in the price of chicken eggs may not be objectively justified, even taking into account the severe economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, since the growth of the general consumer price index and the food price index does not correlate with the rapid growth in the cost of chicken eggs.
