A number of parents have expressed resentment at the rise in egg prices which coincide with the opening of schools for the new academic year.

Speaking to Arab News, they said that the high demand for eggs, a popular choice for breakfast, had prompted some traders to raise the prices.

Ahmed Hazazi, a father of six, said: “I buy at least three boxes of eggs every week during school days as they are a favorite with my children.” He added that the rate of egg consumption exceeded 60 percent during school days and that it fell in the vacations as children usually did not eat eggs in breakfast.

Ahmed Al-Malki said that eggs are everyone’s favorite meal because they taste so good and are easy to cook.

Recently, the egg market has also witnessed an upsurge in demand by restaurants which use them in their buffets and other meals.

Egg prices have jumped 5 percent in the past week from SR 115 to SR 120 in the wholesale market.

Mustafa Hussein, a worker in a poultry shop in Jeddah, told Arab News: “The demand for eggs is associated with several local factors, including specifically the opening of schools.” He noted that the stores and poultry shops did not make much profit from the sale of eggs. “We only gain SR1 per box or SR5 for each carton we sell,” he said.

He pointed out that it was the egg suppliers and dealers who take advantage of the season to make a profit.

He expected the rise in egg prices to continue and reach to more than 20 percent in the coming weeks. He said that the price of a carton will exceed SR140 (at wholesale prices) in light of the high demand.