Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita is to meet with chicken breeders, traders and other stakeholders on Monday to discuss and evaluate the increasing price of chicken eggs that has become a household concern.

Enggartiasto said in Jakarta over the weekend that the ministry did not know the exact cause of the price hike, but guessed that it was caused by an imbalance in supply and demand.

“We want to listen to the stakeholders' testimonies whether the weakening rupiah is also one of the reasons, because [certain ingredients] for chicken feed are imported,” said the minister.

The price of eggs has been increasing in recent months and reached Rp 29,000 (US$2.01) per kilogram on Friday, from the regular price of about Rp 20,000 per kilogram.

“Last week, the price of eggs was Rp 27,000 [per kilogram],” said Surati, a customer as a Jakarta market, as quoted by kompas.com. (bbn)