BAKU, Azerbaijan - Shoppers in Baku are reporting that village eggs have disappeared from some stores as prices climb to 40 gapiks each, adding availability concerns to a sharp recent increase in food costs.
The reports are based on accounts from consumers and social media users, and there are no official figures showing the scale of any shortage across the capital. Globalinfo.az reported that several stores no longer had genuine village eggs in stock.
Azer Badamov, deputy chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship, said colder weather and a decline in the number of rural households keeping chickens may have reduced supplies.
Badamov said some rural residents are increasingly buying eggs and other agricultural products from stores rather than producing them for their own households. He warned that weaker household production could create additional pressure on the food market over the longer term.
Prices Rise as Supplies Tighten
Vesti Baku previously reported that village eggs were selling for 35 to 40 gapiks each, up from 20 to 30 gapiks about a month earlier. Sellers attributed the increase to seasonal supply declines and higher feed costs.
For a buyer who previously paid 25 gapiks per egg, a price of 40 gapiks represents a 60% increase. A dozen would cost 4.80 manats at that price, while 10 eggs cost 4 manats and a tray of 30 costs 12 manats, compared with 7.50 manats at the earlier 25-gapik price.
Badamov said factory-produced eggs had not recorded a comparable price increase because commercial poultry farms were producing sufficient volumes and exporting part of their output.
He said he did not see a need for direct state intervention in egg pricing. Instead, he called for support for family farms and household poultry production, saying higher output could expand supplies and help stabilize prices.
The latest shortage reports mark a new development beyond the earlier price increase, but they have not yet been confirmed as a citywide supply problem. The original Russian-language report is available from Vesti Baku.