By Skandha Gunasekara The price of eggs is expected to increase in the coming weeks due to the resultant restrictions on imports promoted by the Covid-19 outbreak, The Morning learnt. All Island Poultry Association President Ajith Gunasekara said they could not control and maintain the current price of Rs. 19 for eggs. “There is a severe shortage of eggs and despite us assuring earlier that we could, it doesn’t look like it’s possible for us to maintain the present price of eggs. I fear prices will increase to Rs. 22 and, possibly, beyond,” Gunasekara said. He said many factors led to this, including the ban on maize imports. “Due to the pandemic, most of our eggs were not sold and had to be disposed of. The lack of maize as feed for chicken is also a problem. However, the Government has provided us concessionary prices for alternative feed,” he said, and added that farmers were not using wheat and rice as feed. Noting that restrictions on maize import were imposed in order to promote domestic maize cultivation, he said alternative feed were not as nutritious as maize for poultry. “We have seen that wheat and rice sometimes cause the shell of the eggs to have a tinge of yellow. This is only on the shell and has no effect on the egg itself,” Gunasekara added. Meanwhile, Government Spokesman former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Government has no intention of imposing price controls for eggs. “We will not set a control price for eggs or other products that see sudden price fluctuations due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, we will do our best to keep prices of other essential items as low as we can,” Rambukwella said.