Egg prices set to increase again next week

0
443
front 1 eggs
The soaring cost of feed has contributed to the second price hike for eggs in three months
- Advertisement -

Consumers have been put on notice to brace for another sting in their pockets during the coming days, as the price of eggs in Antigua and Barbuda is expected to rise once more.

As of July 25, customers will be paying $12 a dozen or $360 a case when purchased directly from the farms, which in turn will see another increase in supermarkets.

Pasture-raised or free range eggs which are produced by hens raised in outdoor pastures, will cost $15 from the farm.

It’s the second time the staple food has seen a price hike in just three months.

The news came via a press release from the Antigua and Barbuda Layers Association on Monday evening.

The association’s media liaison representative, Valerie Edwards, explained that due to the increasing cost of imported feed across the region, local farmers had no choice but to increase the prices for consumers.

“Last week, across the board whether it was coming from Jamaica or it’s coming from St Vincent, the price per bag went up by $9, so where we used to pay $52 per bag it is now gone up to $61 in one week,” Edwards explained.

“We have had two or three other price hikes before this one, but this one was the major one. Over a course of about three or four months, the price of feed has gone up by $15 for one bag. We were paying $41.50 and now we are paying $61 for the same bag,” she added.

A recent press release from the association explained that since the last increase in the price of eggs, farmers’ costs had continued to rise at an alarming rate.

It went on to say that after “absorbing most of the increases” for some time, that had “now become too difficult, especially with the substantial and frequent increases in our supplies, especially feed”.

- Advertisement -