Brazil gives Namakkal egg a run for money

Egg export from Namakkal district is on a downward spiral, thanks to the tough competition put up by Brazil. But that has not hit the business due to the high demand from domestic markets.
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.

NAMAKKAL: Egg export from Namakkal district is on a downward spiral, thanks to the tough competition put up by Brazil. But that has not hit the business due to the high demand from domestic markets.

Namakkal district, known across the country for its poultry units, has over 1,000 poultry farms with nearly four crore egg-laying hens.  

Each month, 3 to 3.5 crore eggs are exported to Dubai, South Africa, Afghanistan, Muscat and other Arab countries and sometimes to Kazakhstan and Russia, based on demand.

According to the National Egg Coordination Committee statistics, 3.3 crore eggs were exported in March and 3.35 crore in April, but in May it fell to 1.93 crore. In March and April, there was no water in borewells of poultry farms. Likewise, poultry farmers claimed that the high temperature in March-May killed around 50 lakh chickens. The poultry owners also spent more to save the chickens from the searing heat and brought water from various places as locals objected to taking water from borewells. So egg production fell to 3.25 crore from 3.50 crore eggs a day.

Speaking to Express, Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association president A K P Chinraj said, “As Brazil eggs are available cheap in the global market, we are not in a position to compete. Brazilian eggs are premium compared to Indian eggs. In the Gulf countries, they buy Brazilian eggs. Likewise due to price increase of Indian eggs following good domestic demand, price is high compared to Brazilian eggs. But as we have good domestic demand, there is no need to export our eggs cheap.”

“If the price of Brazil eggs increased, our eggs will sell more in the global market. During peak period, we exported 8 to 10 per cent eggs (30-35 lakh eggs) a day to foreign countries. After drought and competition from Brazil, we export 5 to 10 lakh eggs a day,” he said.

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