Bhubaneswar: Soaring egg prices over the past week has been of concern to consumers, who are being forced to pay considerably more for a daily staple.

While a piece of egg used to sell for Rs 5 a fortnight ago, the price has surged to Rs 7 in most markets. Some shopkeepers are selling a single piece at Rs 8.

Traders claimed that wholesalers had pushed up the price of eggs.

"We were buying a box of 210 eggs at Rs 800 two weeks ago. That has now gone up to Rs 1,000. This is forcing us to sell eggs at Rs 7 each," said Mohan Jena, a Rasulgarh trader.

Officials in the animal husbandry department said the state's daily egg requirement was around 85 lakh, while the daily production was 57 lakh. The shortfall is made up with procurement from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Bhubaneswar alone requires around six lakh eggs on a daily basis.

"A number of middlemen are procuring eggs at Rs 4 a piece from farmers, but are taking a commission of Rs 2 before selling it to wholesalers," said an official.

Kiosks of the Odisha State Poultry Products Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited (Opolfed) are selling eggs at Rs 5 per piece. However, these kiosks sell only around 3,000 eggs, which far less compared to the daily requirement. Besides, most kiosks allegedly refuse raw eggs to customers as they use them to prepare fast food.

The Telegraph had in the past reported on allegations that many Opolfed outlets for poultry products had turned themselves into fast food joints, affecting the basic objective behind setting up these kiosks.

"The consumers are already affected by the hike in vegetable prices. Having to pay more for eggs has added to our woes. The price of boiled egg has also reached Rs 10 per piece. In this situation, consumers are forced to cough up more money," said Saraswati Sahoo, a homemaker.

Officials in the animal husbandry department said it had set a target of producing 75 lakh eggs a day this fiscal.

"The state has 104 registered poultry farms functioning under the state-owned Agricultural Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (Apicol)," said the official of the animal husbandry department.

"Egg prices will not fluctuate if the state becomes self dependant," he said.