Egg prices rise as Covid-19 drains output and supply

Consumers are paying more for eggs following a shortage that has pushed up supplier prices.

Egg prices, which had dropped to as low as Sh280 per tray in April, have shot up significantly to retail at Sh360 for the same quantity.

Shopkeepers in Nairobi say they are now forced to sell an egg at Sh15, or Sh25 for two, in response to the increase in wholesale price.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find eggs because of a shortage in the market, a situation that has forced us to raise prices to compensate for higher wholesale prices,” Mr Mr James Ng’ang’a, a shopkeeper in Nairobi’s Shauri Moyo estate in Eastlands, said.

A spot check at Maziwa market, which supplies parts of Nairobi’s Eastlands with eggs, confirmed scarcity, with traders complaining of difficulties in getting supplies from farms.

Kenya Poultry Farmers Association chairperson Wairimu Kariuki said the decline in supply is caused by reduced imports and a cut in local production.

To scale down

She added that due to Covid-19 disruptions, large production farms had opted to scale down.

“At the time the containment measures were put in place, farmers had surplus, which they could not sell anywhere. Most of them were forced to scale down, and this is what has affected supply today,” said Ms Kariuki.

Kenya had been getting supplies from Uganda, but the government moved in last year to seal loopholes that allowed for the illegal imports at border points to curb flooding of the local market with cheap eggs that were pushing local farmers out of business.

High cost of feeds

Ms Kariuki warned that the cost is expected to rise further in the coming days as the shortage is projected to continue for a while given that many farmers are yet to fully restock their layers.

The situation could also be worsened by the high cost of feeds that have gone up to Sh3,700 for a 70 kilogramme bag from Sh3,300 in a span of one nearly a year ago.

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