New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- Egg prices have risen sharply across India over the past year as higher feed costs, increased demand and lower poultry production squeeze supplies. Farm-level prices are now around Rs.7 a piece, while retail prices in many markets have reached Rs.8.50-9 per egg. Prices have also been volatile. The average wholesale National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) price across its listed centres rose from Rs.5.07 an egg in April to Rs.6.82 in July before easing to Rs.5.46 in August. In Delhi, monthly average increased from Rs.4.11 in April to Rs.6.70 in July, before falling to Rs.5.47 in August. At the centre of these fluctuations is maize, a key feed ingredient for poultry as well as a major raw material for India's ethanol blending programme. As more maize is diverted to ethanol production, poultry farmers are having to compete for the same crop. Feed accounts for more than 70% of the cost of producing an egg, leaving farmers with little room to absorb higher input costs. "Maize prices have been volatile since ethanol demand picked up and that has repeatedly squeezed our margins. We have not been able to replace birds at full capacity and have been operating at only around 60% capacity for the past two years. Birds are normally replaced in batches three times a year, but we have managed to do it only twice," said a Gurugram poultry farmer, who did not wish to be named. Birds typically remain in the laying cycle for about 1.5 years and are replaced in batches, the farmer said. Higher retail prices, however, do not necessarily mean higher margins for poultry farmers. "This happens because feed and other input costs have risen much faster. In many cases, farmers are operating at negative margins, while for others margins have fallen to just 1-2%," SVV Dora Reddy, co-founder of Abhi Eggs, told HT. Layer feed is a specialised poultry diet rich in calcium and protein, designed to support hens during egg production. It is also the biggest cost for poultry farmers. According to Ricky Thaper, joint secretary at the Poultry Federation of India, layer feed now costs about Rs.30,000-32,000 per tonne, compared with roughly Rs.24,000 in April, a rise of 20-25% in four months. The biggest ingredient, maize, has also become more expensive. Its price rose from around Rs.21,000 per tonne in April to Rs.26,500-27,000 in August, Thaper said. "The pressure is not limited to bulk feed ingredients. Several vitamins and amino acids used in poultry feed are imported from Europe, and higher shipping costs after the Iran conflict have increased their landed cost," Thaper said. Arpit Jain, senior V-P for energy procurement-grains at IB Group, said, "The shift towards maize has accelerated because sugar availability has been limited and sales of FCI rice were paused, leaving ethanol producers more dependent on maize for the final quarter of the supply year."...