Bangladesh poultry farmers urge govt to fix egg, chicken prices

Prior to the pandemic, the country had 158,000 poultry farms but now only 95,523 remain as the rest had either closed or suspended production, said an industry insider.

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Poultry farmers have urged the government to take into account production costs to fix poultry and egg prices, giving them a profit margin of Tk 15 to Tk 20 on each chicken and Tk 0.25-0.45 an egg. The photo was taken at Gollamari Bazar in Khulna city at the end of last month. Photo: Habibur Rahman

March 6, 2023

DHAKA – The country’s poultry farmers yesterday urged the government to set chicken and egg prices for the local market claiming that they were currently incurring losses even though consumers were paying high prices for the two.

The government should take into account production costs to fix the prices, giving them a profit margin of Tk 15 to Tk 20 on each chicken and Tk 0.25-0.45 an egg, they said.

The leaders of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) came up with the demands at a press meet at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital.

The poultry industry had never seen such price volatility in the last 31 years, claimed BPIA Secretary General Khandaker Md Mohsin.

Prior to the pandemic, the country had 1.58 lakh poultry farms but now only 95,523 remain as the rest had either closed or suspended production, he said.

Both poultry farmers and consumers are now feeling the pinch of price hikes, said BPIA President Shah Habibul Haque.

A solution is needed which can benefit all stakeholders, he said.

In 2010, the livestock ministry formed a committee which was supposed to prepare a strategy to keep poultry prices stable, said BPIA Joint General Secretary Nurul Morshed Khan.

The committee was also assigned to fix prices of one-day-old chicks and monitor the market to help the ministry set egg and chicken prices, he said.

But the committee failed to keep poultry prices stable, Khan said.

At the press meet, the BPIA also recommended that the government offer a stimulus package and extend a tax holiday for the sector until 2030.

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