The last days, the price of eggs on the market has literally exploded. A single egg now costs 20 DA, 22 DA, even 25 DA. As for the tray of 30 eggs, you have to count more than 600 dinars to buy it. Thus, this basic foodstuff of the diet of Algerians and which was once “the source of protein for the poor” is on the way to becoming, like red meat, a luxury product.
Faced with this situation, to say the least, disconcerting, especially with the month of Ramadan which is fast approaching, the dialogue between producers and consumers is broken. The former justify this unprecedented increase by rising poultry feed prices in the global market; but the latter do not hear it that way, and calls for a boycott to “denounce speculation” are increasing on social networks…
Poultry farmers cite the rise in the price of poultry feed on the international market
The eggs now cost 22 DA each, 625 DA the tray!
In a statement to El Khabar newspaper, National Federation of Poultry Farmers spokesman Djeloul Boudaoud attributed the spike in egg prices to the fact that the cost of poultry feed has almost doubled on the international market these last weeks. An increase that made the price of the egg tray on the wholesale market to 570 DA.
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D. Boudaoud said that the prices of different types of poultry feed went from 3500 dinars per quintal in 2021 to 7500 DA, even 8000 dinars per quintal lately. This has seriously harmed breeders and forced the smallest among them to cease their activity. The number of laying hens in Algeria has thus fallen from nearly 40 million in 2019 to around 8 million currently. Added to this are diseases, in particular bird fluwhich require the imposition of a crawl space of up to six months.
However, the spokesperson for the Federation of Poultry Farmers wanted to be reassuring for the future. He asserts, in fact, that egg prices would drop with the advent of Ramadan to 15 DA or 17 DA per unit. He points out that the laying hens that breeders are currently installing in poultry houses will go into production in about 4 months. This, he said, will ensure the availability of eggs in sufficient quantities to bring prices down to a reasonable threshold. D. Boudaoud adds that chicken intended for consumption only takes 40 days to reach maturity, which explains the stability of its price on the market.
Consumer associations, led by Apoce, call for a boycott
Egg boycott campaign with the Arabic hashtag #Nachtezpaslesoeufs.
However, these arguments do not seem to convince citizens and consumer protection associations. Thus, several Facebook pages, national and regional, have decided to launch an extensive egg boycott campaign with the hashtag #n’achetezpaslesoeufs (in Arabic #لا_تشتروا_البيض).
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A call that echoed in the Association for consumer protection and guidance, Apoce. She said this evening, via a post on her official Facebook page, that she supported the boycott campaign. “Apoce announces its full support for boycott campaigns that some have launched on social networks”, can we read in the press release. L’Apoce adds: “The boycott is the consumer’s weapon for changing reality and denouncing situations that are detrimental to their purchasing power”.
For his part, the president of Apoce believes that the upward curve taken by egg prices is becoming a “very worrying” phenomenon, given that no measure capable of guaranteeing the availability and price stability of the product is in view. Mustapha Zebdi concluded his speech by calling on players in the poultry sector to “find solutions as soon as possible”, because the month of Ramadan, a period during which the demand for eggs increases, is fast approaching.
