Breeders claim they are losing massive amounts of money as a result of an approximately 30 per cent increase in the price of chicken feed in recent months, reports the Jerusalem Post.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Agriculture Minister Orit Noked must approve any change in the price of eggs, which are under government supervision.

Their legal advisers referred the matter to the attorney-general on October 24 and are awaiting instructions, the Treasury said. If they approve the breeder's demands, the price of eggs to consumers will rise by around five per cent.

Motti Elkabetz, head of the Poultry Breeders Association, said that the breeders had delayed their protest out of consideration for the public, but that the government should have approved the price increase before the September holidays.