Rising egg prices hit low-income people’s protein intake
During visits to different stalls, including in Kawran Bazar and Eskaton, it was found that most owners had increased the price of eggs by Tk5 and chicken curry by Tk10
Right in front of the National Board of Revenue's offices, a man standing near his food cart shouts out to a rickshaw with no passengers. "Get off here brother! Come eat for a very low price," he proclaims to the rickshaw-puller.
Hesitant at first, the rickshaw-puller, Alamgir, finally gives in and sits on a bench of the cart located on a footpath. He orders half a plate of plain rice with a potato and bitter gourd mixed bhaji. Taking a mouthful, mid-chew he asks, "How much for a dim bhuna (egg curry)?" The staffer replies, "Tk30."
Priced out, Alamgir settles for rice and lentils only.
Eggs, which used to be the most affordable source of protein, are now too expensive for a large demographic of people.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Shafiqul Islam, the keeper at the stall, said only a couple of days ago, the price of a plate of egg curry was Tk25. As a result, the sales of egg curry at the restaurant have dropped - from 60-70 eggs per day to 40-45 eggs.
Shafiqul's predicament is one shared by many others.
Food carts like his are often the first choice for a number of profession, especially those in the low-income bracket. Rickshaw-pullers, CNG drivers and daily labourers among a number of others often throng such eateries for a quick and cheap meal.
But the impacts of loadsheddings and record hike in the price of fuel oil are being felt hard in such places.
During visits to different stalls, including in Kawran Bazar and Eskaton, it was found that most owners had increased the price of eggs by Tk5 and chicken curry by Tk10.
Due to a sudden increase in price, many are being forced to reduce egg consumption.
In the past five days, egg prices have jumped by almost Tk35 per dozen, with a dozen or hali of broiler chicken eggs costing Tk55 on Saturday, up from Tk34 only last year.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) market analysis data on Saturday, the current price is 15.38% higher than a month ago and 32.35% higher than just a year ago.
The supply glut is such that a retailer and wholesaler in Tejgaon, M Liton, said he would sell 5,000 eggs daily but now can't even afford to procure more than 3,500 eggs.
Poultry industry entrepreneurs attributed the rise in egg prices to the 25-30% hike in transportation costs since the 5 August fuel price hike by around 42%.
On the other hand, many poultry farmers outside Dhaka have begun leaving the business due to chronic loadshedding resulting in increased costs of maintaining generators.
To get a glimpse of the gravity of the situation, one need not look further than the numerous chicken hatcheries spread across the country. The normal production levels of two crore chicks per week has already come down to 1 crore 30 lakh.
Many hatchery owners say they can't even sell their output, which often even forces them to kill the excess supply of chicks.
Abu Lutfe Fazle Rahim Khan, managing director, Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Limited, said, "We are not able to sell 25-30% of the chicks we are producing now. Farmers are not interested in buying chicks anymore."
A key reason for this was that maintaining chicks required electricity but many areas were facing up to 16 hours of load shedding. The extra cost of running generators meant many farmers were dropping out of the supply chain.
According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), 2335.35 crore eggs were produced in the financial year 2021-22. This production has more than tripled in 10 years.
A study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations says an average person needs to eat 104 eggs per year.
Although Bangladesh has performed admirably in combating malnutrition over the years, hatchers maintain that eggs may have played a key role in those numbers.
They warned that as people move away from eggs, it may create a nutrient deficiency in the future.
Mahabubur Rahaman, general secretary of the Breeders Association of Bangladesh (BAB), told TBS, there was no other cheaper source of protein.
"Supply will fall if farms close, but if the situation persists it will have a big impact on the protein intake of low-income earners and their children. The government has to take quick steps to save this sector," he said.
