The cold wave in the North and intensification of Thane in the South had pushed up poultry prices, according to The Hindu Business Line.

P. Selvaraj, Zonal Chairman of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), Tamil Nadu, said the onset of cold wave in North India was the main reason for the price hike as the seasonal market attracted an average 25 million eggs a day of Namakkal's average daily production of 2.75 billion eggs.

"Consumption of eggs usually goes up in the winter. Apart from that the Christmas and New Year holiday season has also boosted the consumption of poultry products. But now, owing to higher retail prices we see a consumer resistance and hence we have not raised the prices further," he added.

But prices are still at their lowest in the South at Rs 3.20 in Chennai and Bangalore, compared with Rs 3.40 in Mumbai and Delhi and Rs 3.43 in Kolkata.

Industry sources told Business Line that short supplies and high prices of vegetables have made way for eggs that are seen as the only balanced diet at a lower price. With the Pongal or Sankranti season ahead, the industry foresees lesser possibilities of a drop in price.

Meanwhile, NECC has slashed the price of layer birds to Rs 38 a kg (Rs 41) while the Broiler Coordination Committee's rate for cull birds is down by Rs 4 a kg to Rs 41.