The Times of India reports that now, each egg is being sold at Rs 4, even Rs 4.50-5 in some places, compared to the Rs 3 some days back. Sources in the poultry industry blame it on the 40 per cent drop in production and high mortality rate of the birds.

Market experts said that the prices of egg had soared in the last couple of months. A basket of 100 eggs were sold between Rs 200 and Rs 220 in the month of April in the wholesale market. But now, it is being sold between Rs 300-335. By the time the eggs are bought by the customers, the price goes up further.

"The cost of the feed for chicken has increased in recent times. So, it is difficult to maintain the egg price at Rs 3," K Ranganadha Rao, a farmer, said.

Soya price has increased to Rs 30,000 a tonne from Rs 17,000 a tonne a few months ago. Similarly, prices of maize, jowar and broken rice have also increased.

Experts said apart from lack of temperature conducive for laying eggs, deficient intake of feed also resulted in a big drop in the overall egg output in the state.

They explained that the ideal temperature for eggs is 30-35 degree Celsius. As per the estimations of National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC), the egg production in the state in normal days is six crores and the consumption is 3.2-3.5 crore eggs a day.

The remaining eggs are exported to West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and north eastern states. Kolkata is the main market for the poultry farmers of the coastal districts.

About 60-70 lorries (each lorry carries 2 lakh eggs) are usually transported to Kolkata every day. But with dwindling production, export orders have come down. NECC Vizag zone regional officer MV Aravind hoped that the production could go up with the drop in temperatures.