Egg rate — frequently asked questions

The India average NECC egg rate for 6 August 2026 is ₹5.46 per egg — about ₹163.80 for a tray of 30. That is an unweighted mean of the 24 markets on NECC's suggested-rate table, taken from the last complete day. Rates vary by market: the cheapest is Barwala at ₹5.08 per egg and the costliest is Kolkata at ₹6.00. All 34 markets are on the homepage, updated daily.

NECC is the National Egg Co-ordination Committee, a farmers' body founded in 1982. It publishes a suggested egg price each day for every major Indian egg market. The rate is advisory — farmers, traders and shops are free to sell above or below it.

Rates are refreshed daily, following NECC's own publication cycle — typically each morning, India Standard Time. Every page shows the date the displayed rate applies to.

No. On a typical day the cheapest and costliest markets are 80–90 paise apart per egg, which works out to roughly ₹25 on a tray of 30. Production-belt markets quote lowest; distant consumption markets quote highest.

The NECC rate is a wholesale reference at the market. Your shop adds transport, handling, breakage and its own margin on top. Retail prices running ₹15–30 above the NECC-derived tray price are normal.

Thirty. A half tray holds 15. A tray is also called a carton or a crate.

210 — seven trays of 30. A peti is also written petti, or called a case or a box. It is the standard bulk unit in the Indian egg trade.

Multiply by 30. At ₹5.46 per egg, a tray of 30 comes to about ₹163.80. For 100 pieces multiply by 100; for a peti multiply by 210.

Not in the NECC rate itself — a peti is priced as exactly seven trays. Any discount you get is negotiated with your seller.

Rarely. The dozen is a retail-chain and e-commerce unit. Wholesale trade quotes per piece, per 100, per tray of 30, or per peti of 210.

NECC — the National Egg Co-ordination Committee — a body of poultry farmers founded in 1982. The government plays no role in setting egg prices. NECC suggests a daily rate for each market; it does not enforce one.

No. NECC's own disclaimer states its suggested prices are “merely suggestive and not mandatory”. Following a Competition Commission of India order in January 2022, NECC is required to make that clear and to stop pressuring members over price.

Three things mainly: how many eggs went unsold, the cost of feed (maize and soya make up roughly two-thirds of production cost), and demand. Weather, festivals and disease scares move it in the short term.

Because of distance from production. Barwala sits inside a major poultry belt, so eggs are cheap at source. Ranchi has no nearby production, so its eggs arrive by truck from hundreds of kilometres away and the freight shows up in the price.

It changes daily. Barwala in Haryana, Hyderabad and Warangal in Telangana, and Ludhiana in Punjab are the markets that most often sit at the bottom of the table. Today's cheapest is named on the homepage.

Usually one of the eastern deficit markets — Ranchi and Kolkata — or a large southern consumption city like Bengaluru, Chennai or Mysuru. Today's costliest is named on the homepage.

Usually March and April. Demand drops through the hot months while hens keep laying at the same pace, so rates fall to their yearly low. Every market page shows that market's own month-by-month averages.

Typically December. Winter demand peaks, bakeries scale up for Christmas and New Year, and the rate follows. November and June also run above average in most markets.

In most markets the swing between the cheapest and dearest month is 20–30% on a 17-year average. Individual years can swing far more.

Yes, sharply and regionally. Vegetarian observances such as Shravan, Navratri and Paryushan suppress demand in specific states for specific weeks; rates typically rebound when they end.

To February 2009. Every market page carries the full daily archive, 30-day and 12-month charts, seasonal averages, and that market's all-time high and low.

All 34 NECC collection centres, across 17 states and union territories: Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Barwala, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Brahmapur, Chennai, Chittoor, Delhi, East Godavari, Hospet, Hyderabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Muzaffarpur, Mysuru, Nagpur, Namakkal, Patna, Prayagraj, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Surat, Varanasi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Warangal and West Godavari.

NECC declares rates only for markets where enough eggs trade to make a price meaningful. If your city isn't listed, use the nearest listed market — that is the reference your local traders are working from too.

Usually yes, but the NECC rate covers the standard white table egg only. Brown and speciality eggs are priced separately by sellers, and shell colour reflects the hen's breed, not nutrition.