Low-quality egg in Odisha threatens layer farming

Members of All Odisha Layer Farmers’ Association (AOLFA) on Wednesday threatened to launch protest seeking a ban on import of low-quality eggs to the State. The association requested the State Government to regulate the activities of National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) as the egg price established by it for the State remains ‘arbitrarily low’ stripping the layer farmers of minimum profit.

Association general secretary L Saroj Kumar Patro said the loss is so huge that 12 egg production farms have already been shut down in the State. Low-quality eggs and old stock of 15 to 20 days are being imported from the neighbouring States and supplied across Odisha at a lower price, he alleged. “The practice by some unscrupulous traders is not only preventing State egg farmers from getting their dues but also causing a health risk for consumers,” he said. Around 1.5 lakh people in the State depend on layer farming that has produced direct employment of 50,000 people and indirect employment to another one lakh people.