Egg Prices Plummet, Zulhas Urges NNC to Use Eggs Twice a Week

Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) has requested that the National Nutrition Agency (NNC) increase the use of eggs in the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme to help stabilise egg prices at the farmer level. “Now, to ensure prices align with the highest retail price (HET) for eggs, we are asking the NNC. If the NNC uses eggs just two days a week, that means 48 million eggs in one purchase,” Zulhas said during an inspection of food prices and supplies at Pasar Palmerah in Jakarta on Wednesday. According to him, boosting egg absorption through the MBG programme is necessary because the current supply of eggs is excessive, while prices at the farmer level are declining. He explained that egg prices at Pasar Palmerah were observed at around Rp27,000 per kilogram (kg), lower than the HET of around Rp30,000 per kg. Meanwhile, the price received by farmers has fallen to about Rp20,000 per kg from a normal condition of around Rp23,000 per kg. “The supply is abundant, but demand is low, so we are asking the NNC to use eggs two days in a week,” he stated. He said the government must maintain a balance so that egg prices remain affordable for the public without harming farmers. “The HET is not too burdensome for consumers, but farmers don’t go out of business. If it’s too cheap, farmers will shut down,” he remarked. During the market inspection, Zulhas then directly called NNC Head Dadan Hindayana to request an increase in egg usage in the MBG menu. “Mr Dadan, egg prices are below the HET here. There’s a request from the layer farmers; the NNC should use eggs for the next few days, sir, so that the layer farmers can smile,” he said during the phone call. According to him, demand from the MBG programme has a significant impact on balancing the national supply and demand for eggs. “If two days this week use eggs, next week it will already be stable,” Zulhas stated. Based on data from the Market and Basic Needs Monitoring System (SP2KP) of the Ministry of Trade on 12 May 2026, the national average price of broiler eggs was recorded at Rp28,354 per kg, down 0.18 percent from the previous day. The government has previously stated that the MBG programme serves as one of the instruments to strengthen domestic food consumption while supporting the absorption of domestic livestock and agricultural products.