Jamaicans will have to pay more for eggs, following a price hike announced by the Jamaica Egg Farmers Association on Wednesday (May 19).

According to the egg farmers association, consumers will see an increase of between 20 and 30 per cent in the commodity, noting that the high price of inputs, particularly feeds, made the adjustment necessary.

In particular, the association cited the increase in animal feeds, soy and oil as the main drivers behind the increase in price.

“Mainly is the price of feed. Feed contributes 70% of the production costs and that has moved up significantly in the past few weeks. Corn, alone, is in the region of 100%; soy, which is another major ingredient, has gone up significantly. So the final cost to the farmers has moved in a very serious way, “ said president of the association Mark Campbell.

Campbell further added that the country may have to consider importing eggs.

Earlier this week at least one of the island’s major supplier of chicken meat, signalled that their prices would also increase as a result of higher commodity prices on the global market.