Your meal costs may go up in December as egg and chicken prices could rise by 25-30%. This is because the cost of poultry feed ingredients, including maize and broken rice, has climbed 30-45% over the past month compared with the same period a year ago.Maize and broken rice prices have doubled in the past year. With farmers and traders holding back maize stocks, the industry that uses the grain as a key raw material expects the upward price trend to continue through December.
Eggs, chicken to get costlier as feed prices go up
Wholesale egg prices, currently hovering at Rs 6-7 per egg, are projected to climb to Rs 7-8 by December. The wholesale rate of dressed chicken without skin is also expected to rise from the current Rs 225-250 per kg to Rs 260-275 per kg over the same period, according to senior industry executives.December and January are among the busiest months for poultry consumption, with demand typically rising during the Christmas and New Year festivities.Maize, which cost around Rs 18 per kg last year, is now selling at Rs 34 per kg. Prices were in the range of Rs 26-27 per kg just a month ago, according to an ET report.Industry participants fear that the rate could reach Rs 40 per kg by December, as intermediaries in the supply chain stockpile the commodity in anticipation of further price increases.Broken rice has also become significantly more expensive. Its price, which stood at Rs 14-15 per kg around November 2025, has risen to Rs 31-32 per kg. A month ago, it was available at approximately Rs 22-23 per kg, according to trade data.Industry estimates suggest that a deficient monsoon in Maharashtra and Karnataka, two important kharif maize-producing states, could lead to a 15-16% decline in India’s kharif maize output.“Earlier, whenever prices of maize and rice increased, we used to shift to other cereals like jowar, bajra, ragi etc. However, even these cereals are expensive to use in poultry feed now,” KG Anand, general manager of Venkateshwara Hatcheries told the financial daily.“Although the increase in production costs has been high, we cannot pass the entire increase in costs to the consumers,” said Anand.“This year, we are expecting the production to fall by more than 20% during December and January as farmers are likely to sell younger birds in order to reduce the cost of feeding them,” said Anand.Maize prices have continued to rise amid a growing diversion of the grain towards ethanol production. Rice prices, meanwhile, have been climbing as the deficient monsoon is expected to weigh on output of the kharif paddy crop.