The Veterinary Services Department has rebutted former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's claim that the price of chicken eggs has increased significantly.

Najib, who had compared the this month's price of chicken eggs with that of April 2018, said it had gone up by between 48 to 52 percent.

However, the department said the price of chicken eggs could fluctuate based on input costs such as chicken feed, labour costs, medical costs and other factors.

It added that the price could also be affected by incidents of disease, drought, flood and even the ongoing haze.

It pointed out, for example, that chicken egg prices in early 2015 were higher than current levels.

"What happened in 2015? Why were eggs more expensive then?

"The use of information and data to make baseless comparison will confuse the public and should be avoided," it said.

It said many of the input costs were beyond control.

The department, through the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, continually works to ensure the cost of chicken eggs are competitive for Malaysians," it said.