News
Fallout of Covid-19 drives egg prices to an all-time high
by SURESH PERERA
The price of eggs has shot up to an all-time high of between 24 and 25 rupees each in the local market due to what an industry player described as the “fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, which virtually devastated the trade”.
Thousands of birds had to be culled as the demand for both chicken and eggs plummeted with sales points closed and the distribution network largely disrupted during the lockdown, he said.
Wherever it was possible to dispose of stocks on a limited scale through private traders operating mobile units with police permission at the time, chicken was sold by farms far below Rs. 200 per kilogram and eggs at Rs. 3 each, the official said.
With hotels, restaurants and eateries also closed, suppliers who procured big stocks for distribution also kept away resulting in unsold quantities piling up, he recounted. “With limited storage facilities, the industry was tottering”.
Even immediately after the worst was over and Covid-19 related restrictions were eased, the demand for chicken and eggs didn’t pick up as the buying power of the people had diminished with the drop in personal incomes, he explained.
Fallout
The situation has now boiled down to inadequate layer birds to produce enough eggs to go around, the official explained.
A wholesale trader in Colombo said eggs are being sold at between Rs. 21/50 and Rs. 22/50 each, an unprecedented increase in relation to pre-Covid-19 times.
“That’s why retail prices have jumped to between Rs. 24 and 25”, he noted, while predicting that the upward trend is bound to continue until supplies normalize.
The high price of fish and seafood has also contributed towards the demand for eggs, he further said.
Some supermarkets are also offering substantial discounts on whole dressed chicken as they want to dispose of existing stocks.
“We don’t want to keep the birds in cold rooms for too long as sales are not as good as they used to be”, an official said.
There is a demand for eggs but many customers avoid buying broiler chicken claiming that “the use of steroids have turned the birds into tasteless lumps”.
That’s a misconception, the manager of a farm countered. “The use of hormones and steroids in poultry is banned under the law”.
He said that under modern breeding techniques, vitamins are added to the poultry feed, 60% of which contains maize, and the birds are slaughtered within 40 to 45 days according to the required weight.
“If we are to inject costly hormones, we will have to sell a kilogram of chicken for Rs. 1,500 to make a profit”, he asserted.
The Purawesi Balaya organisation yesterday (24) lodged a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, requesting an investigation into the alleged overpayment of Rs. 200 million in detention charges for 40 container trucks used in the removal of waste from the distressed ship X-Press Pearl.
According to the complaint, the waste from the ship was transported from a temporary yard in Wattala to the storage yard in Pamunugama using 40 containers, for which an excessive amount — approximately Rs. 200 million — had been paid as detention fees. This information has reportedly been included in the 2021 annual report of the Marine Environment Protection Authority
(MEPA), as cited in a report submitted to Parliament by the National Audit Office.After lodging the complaint Purawesi Balaya Chairman Jamuni Kamantha Thushara said that they hoped the CIABOC would conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
By Sujeewa Thathsara
The main suspect in the shooting and killing of political activist Dan Priyasad had been arrested, the police said yesterday. Investigators suspect that notorious Mohommad Najim Mohommad Imran alias Kanjipani Imran, who is taking refuge in Dubai, ordered Priyasad’s killing.
The suspect is a resident of Wellampitiya.
The convenor of the “Nawa Sinhale National Movement” and political activist, Dan Priyasad, was fatally shot at the ‘Laksanda Sevana’ Housing Complex in Wellampitiya on Tuesday (22) night. He was initially admitted to the Colombo National
Hospital with gunshot wounds, but passed away shortly after due to the severity of his injuries. Priyasad was reportedly shot four times—twice in the chest and twice in the shoulder. Additionally, another individual who sustained minor injuries during the incident is also currently receiving treatment in hospital.
It is reported that two individuals, who had arrived on a motorcycle, fired multiple shots using a pistol before fleeing the scene.
As of yesterday evening police had taken into custody seven persons including two women for questioning related to Priyasad’s murder.
According to police, the contract was arranged by a three-wheeler owner named Dulan, also a resident of Wellampitiya. Dulan is currently in police custody and has provided investigators with key information. It was revealed that Dulan is related to the father and son duo who are the main suspects in a previous case involving the murder of Dan Priyasad’s younger brother. Dulan reportedly informed them that Dan continued to harass him.
The conflict reportedly escalated on April 20, when Dan Priyasad allegedly assaulted Dulan during an altercation in Wellampitiya, also damaging his three-wheeler with a sharp weapon. Dulan later discussed the incident with the father and son, who in turn contacted underworld criminal Grandpass Danushka in Dubai. Danushka, a close associate of Kanjipani Imran, informed him of the issue as well.
Imran, who reportedly had his own grudge against Dan Priyasad, allegedly agreed to support the murder plan and instructed that two contract killers be engaged to carry out the hit.
Dulan did not complain to the police about damage to his three-wheeler but instead had another individual file a complaint on his behalf — believed to be an attempt to distance himself from the murder plot.
The assassination was initially planned for April 21 in front of the Wellampitiya Police Station, when Dan Priyasad was expected to appear in relation to that complaint. However, he did not show up, and the attempt failed. Later that night, the killers struck while Dan was at a family gathering.
So far, police have questioned nearly 20 individuals in connection with the case. A special police team has been deployed to locate the missing father and son, but multiple searches of suspected hideouts have yielded no results.
By Norman Palihawadane and Hemantha Randunu
The government has declared April 26, 2025 (Saturday), a National Day of Mourning in view of late Pope Francis’ funeral, the Ministry of Public Administration announced.
Pope Francis’ funeral has been scheduled for Saturday in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican announced following a meeting of the College of Cardinals at the Catholic Church’s city-state headquarters in the heart of Rome.
The coffin carrying the pope, who died Monday morning after suffering a stroke and heart failure at the age of 88, was brought in a procession on Wednesday morning to the basilica from his residence at Casa Santa Marta, where he died.
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