Farmers for fixing 'fair prices' of broiler, eggs

Poultry producers have called upon the government to step in and set "fair prices" in order to stabilise the country's markets for broiler chicken and eggs.

According to the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA), more than 62,656 poultry farms have shut down during the pandemic that struck the nation in March 2020, causing disruptions in the supply of chicken and eggs.

Reading out a written statement at a press conference on Sunday at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the capital, BPIA Secretary General Khandker Md Mohsin said, currently, 95,523 farms are in production out of 158,179.

As a result, the daily production capacity of chicken has decreased from 5,273 tonnes to 4,219 tonnes. That is, meat production has decreased by 25.71%, Khandaker Md Mohsin said.

Similarly, egg production has dropped from 6.64 crore pieces per day to 4.32 pieces. That means the production has fallen by 25%, he added.

However, due to various social events, including weddings and picnics, there has been an increased demand for chicken and eggs. The prices of eggs and chickens are high in the market due to a lack of supply as compared to demand, claimed the association leader.

The association claimed that the cost of production of broiler chicken per kg is Tk167 and farmers sell it at Tk190-200. This chicken is selling at kitchen markets in Dhaka for up to Tk240. Due to the increase in price, farmers are seeing profit after a long time, but this price is claimed to be unusual.

And the production cost of each egg is Tk11.71, whereas farmers sell it for Tk9.45. Thus, farmers are incurring losses in the egg trade, and that too is not the usual price. To end this situation, farmers demanded government intervention to fix "reasonable prices" for eggs and chicken, it added.

The association's secretary general said that if farmers can make a profit of Tk10-15 after the production cost and Tk0.25-0.50 after the production cost of each egg, they will be in profit and the environment of selling chicken and eggs at a reasonable price in the market will return.

He said that in the post-Covid period, due to the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war, the prices of chicks and feed have increased unusually. The cost of production has also gone up as the cost of everything, including freight, diesel, and electricity, has gone up. Now maybe there is a shortage of supply due to the pressure of various social events, but after a few days, this price will fall again. Then the farmers will again fall into losses.

Khandker Md Mohsin said many farms have closed due to long-term losses. But now those who are in operation are getting some benefits.

"The current market price is also not reasonable. We want to end this volatility in the market. If the price can be determined, the farmers will not be in crisis in the future," he added.

In 2010, a pricing committee headed by the director general of the Department of Livestock Services was constituted. Farmers claim that this committee has not done any work so far and is therefore ineffective. This committee should fix the rational price at least twice a month, taking into account the cost of production.

At that time, the association's senior vice president Khandaker Monir Ahmed said that now the production cost of chicken can be fixed by the government by forming an expert committee. Then, they should set a price after determining a reasonable profit margin. Otherwise, the rest of the farmers will also slowly fall into the storm.

In response to a question about whether any syndicate is working in the market, Khandker Md Mohsin said that 84% of the production is under the control of small farmers. Industrial farmers control only 16% of production. There is no opportunity for small farmers to control the market together across the country.