Egg Production in India
India is the third largest egg production country in the world. The layer industry mainly lies in southern states especially, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra producing nearly 70% of the country’s egg production. Andhra Pradesh accounts for the highest share of over 30 percent. Tamil Nadu has a share of about 20 percent. India egg production keeps increasing during the last few years.
Fluctuating Price
The trend in the egg prices is fluctuating across the Indian egg markets. Egg price is influenced by consumption. High consumption of egg during winter season results in high prices in the market. The demand is also high on Christmas and New Year, which attributes to the rise in prices in the months of November and December. The price is lowest in April partly due to the hot climate across India during the months of March, April, and May.
Egg Consumption
In India, per capita consumption is only 54 eggs per year, as compared to 230 eggs in the European Union and the USA. 75% of egg production is consumed by the 25% population living in urban and semi-urban areas. Major cities consume 170 eggs averagely while smaller cities consume 40 eggs.
Egg Processing Industry
India’s egg processing industry was born in 1996, establishing the first processing plant at Hyderabad. Now India’s combined egg processing plants capacity is at 12000 metric tons per year. However, due to various reasons, currently, only 6% of the eggs are processed.
Egg Exports
India now emerged as a leading exporter of shell eggs, frozen and dehydrated egg products. Afghanistan, Algeria, Hong Kong, Maldives, Middle East, and African countries are leading export markets for eggs produced across India. Namakkal in Tamil Nadu accounts for over 90 % of India’s total egg exports.
