PRICES of eggs from Malaysia have risen in recent weeks, bucking a trend which has seen the cost of other staples like rice and wheat slide.

Prices of wheat, for example, has fallen to about US$5.40 (S$8.26) per bushel today, down from about US$13 in February.

Fragrant rice sells at US$827 per tonne this week, down from US$1,222 in May.

At wet markets, however, a pack of 10 large eggs now costs about $1.90, up 15 cents from three weeks ago.

This hike brings the cost of eggs back to near-record prices in June - when the Malaysian fuel price hike drove up costs - and marks the first increase since then.

'Egg prices actually went down by about one cent per egg since July', said egg importer Mr Ang Teng Hong. 'Now it is up again'.

The reason: Hong Kong is turning to Malaysian eggs after China eggs were found to be tainted with excessive levels of melamine, which has led to tightened supply, and the recent jump in the cost of animal feed.

Chicken feed, said importers, was very expensive five months ago, putting a squeeze on the number of chicks reared then.

'Now, there are not enough mother hens to lay eggs', said Mr Tan Joo Wah, chairman of Singapore's Eggs Import and Export Trading Association. 'More demand and less supply means the price of each egg has gone up half a cent every week'.

He added that the situation was unlikely to ease up until after Chinese New Year when 'prices might fall again'.

In the meantime, consumers hope that this increase will not extend to other food products.

'Everyone is facing the possibility of pay cuts and we are not sure what will happen in the future', said Madam Paramjit Kaur, 40. 'Every cent counts, I hope the increases dont extend to other food products'.