West Asia war disrupts egg exports; prices crash

Amaravati: The escalating conflict in West Asia has triggered an unexpected shock in India’s poultry export chain, sending egg prices tumbling across major production hubs after shipments to Gulf countries abruptly stalled.

With maritime routes and air cargo links disrupted amid the regional crisis, egg exports from the Telugu states to Gulf markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar have come to a near standstill, forcing millions of eggs meant for export into the domestic market. The sudden oversupply has sharply depressed prices. A tray of 30 eggs that sold for nearly Rs 200 a month ago now trades between Rs 100 and Rs 130, while retail prices have dropped from Rs 8–Rs 10 per egg earlier this year to around Rs 5 in several markets.

Industry sources say the disruption has stranded over 30 crore eggs that were originally destined for overseas markets. Normally, more than 50 lakh eggs are exported daily from the country, mostly in Telugu states and Tamil Nadu, making the region one of the country’s largest export bases for table eggs. With exports halted, domestic wholesale prices have fallen to Rs 3.50–Rs 4.30 per egg, significantly below the Rs 5–Rs 5.50 production cost, forcing poultry farmers to sell at steep losses.

Major poultry clusters such as Vijayawada and Hyderabad have been particularly affected as exporters redirect unsold inventory into local markets. The surge in supply has also prompted the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) to slash benchmark wholesale rates in an attempt to stabilise prices.

Producers say the timing could not be worse. Feed costs have surged sharply in recent months due to rising soybean and maize prices, significantly increasing production expenses. With egg prices collapsing below cost levels, farmers estimate losses of nearly Rs 2 per egg.

Andhra Pradesh alone produces nearly five crore eggs every day, with roughly half normally consumed locally and the rest transported to other states or exported abroad.

The sudden export freeze has therefore created supply imbalance across domestic markets. Poultry association member Koteswara Rao said the current downturn could deepen if the geopolitical crisis continues to disrupt trade routes in the Middle East.

However, industry insiders remain cautiously optimistic that prices could stabilise once export channels reopen. If shipments to Gulf markets resume in the coming weeks, they said the surplus could quickly be absorbed and the market could recover.

For now, while poultry farmers grapple with shrinking margins and mounting inventories, consumers are benefiting from the sharp fall in egg prices, a rare market reversal triggered by a conflict thousands of kilometres away.