The poultry sector is facing a severe squeeze as the cost of feeding livestock climbs to unprecedented heights, putting intense pressure on both producers and consumers. Poultry products traditionally experience seasonal price fluctuations during November and December due to heightened demand over the winter holiday period. However, current price surges have far outpaced normal seasonal patterns.
Last November, wholesale prices for one hundred eggs sat at five hundred seventy rupees, climbing to six hundred fifty rupees by December. Recent market data shows a vastly different reality. Prices in markets like Kolkata and Chennai have surged to seven hundred thirty rupees per hundred eggs. In Hyderabad, rates for a thirty-egg tray have reached roughly two hundred ten rupees, pushing individual egg prices higher and wholesale crate costs near seven hundred rupees. This represents an increase of roughly thirty to forty percent compared to the previous year.
Regional Production and the Core Problem
India features a well-established poultry landscape where regional contributions drive national supply chains. Andhra Pradesh ranks first nationally in poultry production, Tamil Nadu holds second position, and Telangana stands in third place. Telangana alone produces approximately three crore eighty lakh eggs annually alongside significant meat consumption. Despite high regional production levels, soaring input costs threaten the stability of the entire ecosystem.
The fundamental driver behind the price hike is the escalating cost of poultry feed. Scientific institutions such as the Indian Council for Agricultural Research, the National Institute for Animal Nutrition, and the National Veterinary Research Institute emphasize that optimal bird growth and egg yield rely heavily on balanced nutrition. An ideal feed formulation consists of roughly fifty percent maize, thirty percent soybean, fifteen to eighteen percent de-oiled rice bran, along with small proportions of minerals and probiotics.
To achieve standard growth targets, a bird requires a specific amount of balanced feed within a thirty-six-day cycle to reach a target weight of two kilograms. Feed accounts for roughly eighty percent of total production costs in the poultry industry. Within that feed composition, maize and soybean represent the vast majority of the expense, while electricity, labor, and rent make up the remaining twenty percent.
Recent market shifts have dramatically inflated these primary ingredients. Maize prices jumped from two thousand rupees per quintal last year to thirty-two hundred rupees per quintal. Soybean experienced an even sharper rise, climbing from thirty-five hundred rupees per quintal to six thousand rupees per quintal. When feed quality or quantity is compromised due to high costs, birds suffer from reduced weight gain, lower egg production, and higher mortality rates, spelling heavy losses for poultry farmers.
The Ethanol Dilemma and Policy Pressures
Industry representatives are requesting subsidized broken rice supplies from the Food Corporation of India to help mitigate feed shortages. However, government grain diversion policies have heavily favored alternative sectors. Substantial quantities of food grains and broken rice have been diverted from the Food Corporation of India toward private ethanol production plants.
Critics point out that substantial financial resources have been directed into subsidizing ethanol production to support fuel programs, while food security sectors like poultry struggle with severe resource constraints. Furthermore, the large-scale diversion of maize toward ethanol manufacturing has compounded supply shortages. Authorities previously relied heavily on sugarcane for ethanol, but rising sugar prices and political sensitivities during festival periods led to restrictions on sugarcane diversion, prompting a heavy pivot toward maize instead.
This intersection of fuel policy and food production has drawn broader economic scrutiny. Experts note the persistent challenge of balancing food economies against fuel economies. When agricultural yields are directed toward fuel, food inflation rises, directly impacting everyday consumers who rely on affordable nutritional staples.
Additionally, external pressures have emerged as international suppliers push for the import of foreign maize, soybeans, and dried distiller grains. Introducing imported agricultural commodities that involve genetic modification raises valid concerns regarding the integrity of domestic food chains. With chicken and eggs serving as essential nutritional sources for a vast portion of the population, unchecked inflation in feed and production costs risks making basic dietary protein inaccessible to ordinary households.