Egg prices smash previous records.

KARACHI -- Egg prices all over the country have risen to the hightest-ever peak of Rs200-240 per dozen with surging demand due to harsh winters.

Talking to Dawn, consumers said the government has utterly failed in checking the egg price hike, leaving them at the mercy of poultry farmers and retailers who in turn blame costly chicken feed for sharp jump in rates.

Egg price in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, are now pegged at Rs240 per dozen while in other major cities including Karachi and Lahore see the produce at Rs200 per dozen.

Since the prices shot up, a large number of families in urban areas across the country are buying two to six eggs instead of a dozen or more eggs in one go citing cash crunch.

For the labour class, mostly men who have their breakfast at small hotels are feeling the pinch as their daily bill for anda paratha is going up to Rs70 due to soaring egg prices. Many now simply order a cup of tea and paratha, the prices of which are pegged at Rs40 and up.

Consumers blame govt's utter failure to check the rising trend

Retailers in Karachi said one egg used to sell at Rs12-13 in winters, but this year it has crossed the Rs17 per egg mark -the highest in country's history.

On the other hand, there has been no relief in poultry prices, with retailers fleeting consumers.

Talking to Dawn, General Secretary Sindh Poultry Wholesalers Association (SWPA) Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui said wholesale egg price is now at Rs5,850 per 30 dozen or Rs195 per dozen. Two months ago, 30 dozen eggs were pegged at Rs4,500 or Rs150 per dozen two months back.

The demand for eggs usually crawls up by 15 per cent in winters but problem is now decline in supply of eggs of same percentage in the market, he said.

He attributed the hike in the prices of live birds and eggs to rising feed prices. 'Wholesale live bird and its meat prices are Rs240 and Rs360 per kg, respectively,' he added.

Consumers had...