Phitsanulok locals stock up on eggs amid rising price and tight supplies
Consumers in Phitsanulok are bristling over a 0.2 baht per piece rise in the price of chicken eggs, or six baht per tray of 30 eggs.
The price hike was announced by Thailand's Egg Farmer Cooperative Network earlier this week.
The network on Monday told its members to raise the price of assorted eggs at farms from 3.6 baht to 3.8 baht per egg, the highest price yet this year.
The hike was warranted by the rising prices of animal feed and farmers retiring old hens as per schedule, resulting in a drop in egg output, the network had explained.
The retiring of old hens led to the largest eggs, No. zero and No. 1, vanishing from the markets.
When The Nation’s reporters visited markets in Phitsanulok province on Friday, they found that egg prices had risen in line with the announcement to 4-4.2 baht per egg, or 100 to 110 baht per tray, while there were no stocks of eggs No. zero and No. 1 anywhere.
Meanwhile, duck eggs in the province are also seeing a price hike due to low output. Vendors said many farmers had quit poultry farming due to the soaring feed prices, while those still in the business are facing a problem of smaller eggs as the ducks have been affected by the high summer heat.
A tray of No. 1 duck eggs costs around 140 baht.
As the demand of eggs is predicted to climb when the school semester starts (on May 16), Phitsanulok locals are buying eggs in bulk, fearing that the prices may rise further. This has also affected small businesses that use large quantities of eggs such as makers of Thai desserts, salted eggs and preserved eggs.
