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The prices of farm chickens and broiler chickens have
started to decrease in the wholesale market of Dhaka. Prices have been falling
since the beginning of this week. It has been found that traders are releasing
more chickens from the farm as the winter season is approaching. This has
increased the supply of broilers and reduced the price. Due to reduced demand,
the price of eggs is also falling.
The capital's wholesale market and retail-level egg traders
said that the wholesale price of a dozen brown eggs is Tk 110. Retailers are
recently keeping the price of eggs at Tk 40. The price of each dozen stands at Tk
120. In the space of a month, the price of eggs has decreased by at least Tk 20
to 25 per dozen.
In the last month, the wholesale price of broiler
chicken has decreased by Tk 15 to Tk 20 per kg. Now it is being sold at Tk 130
to Tk 140 per kg, which is retailing at Tk 150 to Tk 160. But if you buy in
larger quantities, the price will come down a bit more at both the wholesale
and retail levels. The retail price of broiler chicken per kg is now below Tk
150. The price of golden chicken has also decreased in the market. The price of
golden chicken is 260 to 280 taka per kg.
Azizur Rahman, a wholesale trader of Tejgaon in the capital, said, "The price of eggs has now become normal. A few days later, the price of chicken is also decreasing. But the price has come down a bit. But if the price falls too much, the farmers may reduce production again. The market will go up again.
After the increase in the price of fuel in the country, the
price of eggs increased at a 'rocket speed' in the second week of last August.
At that time, the price of one Hali (four eggs) exceeded Tk 55 in retail
markets across the country, including the capital Dhaka. However, prices
started to fall again in the last week of August. Now it has come down to Tk 40 in the retail market of Dhaka.
The president of the Bangladesh Poultry Association Sumon
Howlader claims that the marginal farmers are leaving the business in the face
of losses. He said that the cost of production is very high, and due to the
syndicate, small farmers are not getting the price of eggs and chicken. As a
result of not being able to do business, the farmers are selling the chicken
and closing the farm. That is why the supply in the market is high, the price is
low. But it will have a negative impact on the market in the future.
Calling for the protection of small farmers in this
situation, Sumon Howladar said, if the farmers leave the business, the big
corporates in this industry will syndicate and control the prices. Then the
price of eggs and chickens may go beyond the reach of common people. So, the
government should take effective steps in this regard on an urgent basis now.
According to Bangladesh Economic Survey-2022, about two
thousand crore eggs are produced in the country annually. The demand is met
with domestically produced eggs. In addition to eating these eggs, a large
portion is hatched again. According to the Breeders Association of Bangladesh,
the average demand for broiler chicks in the country was 1 crore 32 lakh per
week.
Source:
Online/SZK
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