The prices of fresh eggs here have continued to rise as the supply shortfall widens, after another farm in Malaysia was suspended last month — the third in six months — from exporting eggs to Singapore.

This is so despite the three suspended farms accounting for less than 8 per cent of Singapore’s total supply of 1.68 billion eggs last year. In the past three weeks alone, a few supermarket chains have raised the prices of eggs several times.

School canteen vendor Margaret Tan, 60, who usually buys eggs from Sheng Siong, said a box of 30 eggs now sets her back S$5.95, up from S$5.60 last week and S$4.30 last month.

At NTUC FairPrice stores, fresh eggs now cost between S$1.95 and S$5.70 for a pack, up from between S$1.90 and S$5.55 at the end of last month.

A FairPrice spokesperson said prices of eggs had increased by about 12 per cent over the past six-and-a-half months for “various reasons such as reductions in supply and economic conditions”.

Egg prices at Giant have also increased by about 4 to 7 per cent in the past three to four months, said a Dairy Farm Group spokesperson.

Last month, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) suspended Charoen Pokphand Jaya farm after its eggs had been found to contain Salmonella Enteritidis — a bacterium that causes food poisoning. The two other farms, Chong Ne Nam and Teo Seng Farm 8, were suspended in March and July, respectively.

Singapore imported about three-quarters of its eggs from Malaysia last year, with the rest produced locally. There are currently 20 Malaysian chicken layer farms approved by the AVA.

Mr Tan Lau Huah, chairman of the Eggs Import/Export Trading Association, said prices first took flight around August, after the second farm was suspended, and had risen thrice since.

Wholesale prices are now at a record high of almost S$2.40 per dozen.

“We face higher costs from our Malaysian suppliers and demand has risen because of festivities this month, so we have no choice but to raise prices,” he said.

Mr Tan expects prices to remain unchanged for the next two weeks as demand is likely to subside only after Deepavali. KELLY NG