Chicken egg prices in Ukraine will rise with the onset of autumn. According to analysts' forecasts, by the end of the autumn season, consumers will pay 15-25% more for a dozen eggs than at the beginning of September.
How much and when
Eggs may already rise in price by approximately 10% in September, said Maksym Hopka, head of the analytical department of UKAB. According to his assessment, by the end of autumn, the total price increase relative to the September level will be from 15% to 25%.
At the same time, the industry is increasing external sales. In the first eight months of this year, Ukraine exported 1.64 billion eggs worth a total of 164 million dollars. Compared to the same period last year, physical volumes of supplies increased by 18.3%, and revenue by 37%. Exports of egg products for the same period reached 6.7 thousand tons, which is 36% more than the previous year, according to the Association of Poultry Farmers of Ukraine.
Why it's getting more expensive
The autumn price increase has several interrelated reasons. Maksym Hopka from UKAB highlights, first of all, the natural factor: with the shortening of daylight hours, the egg-laying capacity of hens decreases, and with it, production volumes. At the same time, private farms, which actively supply eggs to the market in summer, significantly reduce their supply in autumn, while consumer demand remains unchanged.
At the end of August, prices already began to rise - then the main trigger was logistical disruptions. Serhiy Karpenko, executive director of the "Union of Poultry Farmers of Ukraine" association, notes that transport issues are gradually being resolved, and ex-factory prices have stabilized, but structural pressure on production costs has not disappeared.
Price pressure on producers accumulated throughout the year. From May to August, wholesale prices for eggs did not cover production costs. Although the reduction in prices for grains and oilseed processing products somewhat eased the situation, the increase in logistical costs keeps the overall cost at a high level, Karpenko explains. Poultry meat is in a similar situation - its prices have barely reached the break-even point since the beginning of the year.
