What’s behind the price increase of local eggs?

The egg carton is fast-becoming the symbol of inflation in Uganda. In just a month, the prices have tripled and summarily put a strain on many Ugandans who rely on them as a low-cost source of protein.

The confluence of pandemic-enforced supply chain disruptions, high feed costs and a growing export market for the nutrient-dense food has triggered a spike in prices.

The problem predates the pandemic, with Mr Edward Makobole—the director of livestock at Uganda National Farmers’ Federation (UNFFE)—telling Monitor that even before Covid-19 reared an ugly head, “there was little supply of maize, which is the major input in poultry feeds.” The net result, he adds, “was a high demand” that eventually shot the prices high.

Ms Beth Amutuhairwe, a poultry farmer from the township of Seeta in the central district of Mukono, remembers how it became more “expensive to feed birds than it was for family.”

When the pandemic struck, curbs such as movement restrictions made eggs, Mr Makobole reveals, “highly exposed on the local market.” Soon people “were ever coming at my door, selling a tray of eggs at just Shs6,000”, Mr Perez Kawumi—the deputy chief executive officer at UNFFE—told Monitor.

This prompted Mr Kawumi to contemplate “the fate of my poultry farm.” While Mr Kawumi chose to stick it out, 18 out of 20 poultry farmers interviewed for this story abandoned the trade. The reasons for their departure are varied, but it is evident that a significant number of poultry farmers have been forced out of business.

Mr Kawumi said many poultry farmers watched as investments into “water systems, shelter, electricity, different machines and medical expenditures on a farm” went down the drain. Their departures en masse have since translated into a shortage of eggs on the Ugandan market. Owing to the supply bottlenecks, leading supermarkets in the country have pushed up their prices. A tray of eggs retails at anywhere between Shs13,000 and Shs16,000. For those whose businesses revolve around eggs, this has been a sledgehammer blow. Take Mr Raymond Ssekidde, a chapati stall owner in Mukono. 

The egg sub-sector was what was keeping people like Mr Ssekidde in the business of street food following steep price increments in wheat and cooking oil.

“We came together as chapati makers in this trading centre and decided to add Shs500 on any rolex (chapati with eggs) order,” Mr Ssekidde said.

Previously, ordering for a Shs500 chapati with an egg would cost you Shs1,000. Now the same goes for Shs1,500. The Shs500 increment has seen consumption rates take a nose dive as per Mr Ssekidde. “Before, I would sell over three trays a day. It is hard to even finish one now.”

Ms Asenath Were, a student at Uganda Christian University, was recently shocked when she received two eggs from a retailer instead of the three Shs1,000 used to get her. 

“The same thing happened when I went to buy a rolex. The guy wanted an extra Shs500. I just bought plain chapati because that was not in my budget.”

Elsewhere, Ms Maggie Rachael Nantume—a local baker in Bugujju zone, Mukono District—also finds herself grappling with the rising cost of eggs. She told us that the state of affairs is putting a strain on her business.

“It is even worse because people are now too economical with disposable money,” she noted.

Those who walk into bread and cake shops have been met with price increments. Ms Vanessa Kyalimpa recently bought a piece of cake at Shs8,000. A fortnight ago, she spent Shs6,000 on the same. Bakers like Ms Nantume say their hands are tied.

Ms Amutuhairwe, who still runs a poultry farm in Seeta, was forced to hike the price of a tray of eggs from Shs9,000 to Shs11,000. She told Monitor that her hands are tied too. Poultry feeds are “too expensive.” Mr Kawumi said a high tax levied on an ingredient in the poultry feeds he called “akalungo” has compounded matters.