BAKU, Azerbaijan - Village eggs at Baku’s Yaşıl Bazaar are selling for 40-50 gapiks apiece, up from about 30 gapiks, as poultry producers face higher feed, veterinary, energy, labor and transport costs.
At current prices, 10 eggs cost 4-5 manats, compared with 3 manats previously, according to a Vesti Baku report based on a televised survey of the market.
Economist Asif Ibrahimov said one of the largest cost pressures comes from poultry feed. Producers use soy, corn and various feed additives, and increases in those input prices raise the cost of producing eggs before the effect reaches shoppers.
“If production expenses rise, the final price of the product will also be higher,” Ibrahimov said in the report.
He said the market includes both eggs sold as village products and eggs produced by industrial poultry farms. Higher feed costs put pressure on both types of producer, although their production structures differ.
Imported Inputs Add to Domestic Price Pressure
Feed is only part of the final price. Labor, water, natural gas, electricity, transportation, delivery and storage also contribute to production and retail costs, Ibrahimov said.
Some of the inflationary pressure comes from abroad because Azerbaijani farms rely on imported feed components and veterinary medicines. When those goods become more expensive in foreign markets, domestic production costs also rise.
Ibrahimov said that dependence makes Azerbaijan’s egg market more sensitive to changes in international prices.
The original television report includes footage from the market and Ibrahimov’s comments.