WattAgNet: Worries about cage-free eggs reach India

Attendees at a session organized by India’s National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) and Vista Processed Foods were cautioned that if cage-free egg production reaches India, egg consumption would be apt to decline.

During the session titled “Understanding Cage-Free Poultry,” Vista Processed Foods CEO Bhupinder Singh said cage-free egg production would multiply the cost of eggs by at least four times the current price, which is around INR5 (US$0.08).

Presently, according to a report from The Hindu, yearly per capita consumption of eggs is as low as 62, almost a third of the amount recommended by the National Nutrition Institute.

The concerns in India are similar to those expressed in the United States, where cage-free eggs are currently carrying a retail price that is roughly three times that of traditionally-produced eggs. One critic recently said that a transition to cage-free eggs in the United States will contribute to increased poverty rates.

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'Cage-free poultry farming will push up egg prices'

Mumbai: Many in the poultry farming business believe that if cage-free poultry farming is to be taken up in India, the cost of an egg will shoot up four-fold. At a session on ‘Understanding Cage Free Poultry’ organised by the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) and Vista Processed Foods, speakers termed cage-free poultry “a mishap, a catastrophe in an already protein-deficient nation”.

Read More at The Hindu