JOIN USState loses out in tussle for Kerala egg market
While poultry farmers in Tamil Nadu heave a sigh of relief over lifting of restrictions on the supply of eggs to Kerala, the ban on supply of eggs from Mysore district continues.
Satish Babu, chairman of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), Mysore zone, accompanied a delegation of officials from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for a series of discussions with Shaji, the principal secretary to the Department of Animal Husbandry of Kerala, Monday evening.
“It was decided to give Tamil Nadu the permission to resume the supply of eggs, albeit only after certification from inspectors,” Babu said.
The prohibition on eggs from Karnataka is set to continue, which has dashed the hopes of poultry farmers here, who want a speedy solution to the impasse.
Officials said the ban on eggs from the State will be lifted only after the Centre declares the State a disease-free zone.
Tamil Nadu currently supplies 1.1 crore eggs daily to Kerala against 12 lakh eggs from Mysore district. The ban has been lifted for Tamil Nadu as it is a major supplier, said Babu.
Yet, some poultry farmers in Mysore district claimed that business was good. Gururaj, a largescale poultry farmer, said fears of avian flu had not affected his business. He did, however, admit that there were fluctuations in the prices of poultry meat and eggs.
“The situation is returning to normal. Egg prices are stable at Rs 3 per piece (wholesale price),” he said.
The shelf life of eggs is approximately 20 days at room temperature. They can be kept for more than three months in cold storage. Kerala’s ban on eggs from Mysore district has posed problems to poultry farmers who do not have adequate facilities to store all their eggs.