Retail poultry prices unfair: Farmers

Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) has termed the retail prices of broiler chicken and eggs ‘unfair and illogical’ as the prices are unreasonably higher than the wholesale prices.

The association leaders sought government intervention to fix the logical prices of chicken and eggs.

“Per kg of broiler chicken is selling for Tk 240 in the kitchen markets in the capital while the poultry farmers are selling it Tk 190-200, which is unfair and illogical,” said BPIA Secretary General Khandakar Md Mohsin while addressing a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium in the capital on Sunday.

Besides, he said, farmers are selling eggs at a price that does not even cover the production cost and that is why they are incurring huge losses.

Mohsin said due to the high prices of poultry feed, the production cost per kg of broiler chicken has increased to Tk 167, and the production cost per piece of an egg has risen to Tk 11.71 but its wholesale price is Tk 9.45. Due to this low price of eggs, farmers are being forced to shut down poultry firms.

“We believe that retail prices of broiler chicken and egg are not reasonable, and that is why dissatisfaction has grown among the consumers. Amid the situation, we are seeking government intervention to fix logical prices of broiler chicken and eggs,” he said.

Mohsin said poultry farmers are not getting fair prices for broiler chicken and eggs, incurring huge losses. As a result, the number of poultry farms across the country has declined to 95,523 from 1.58 lakh in recent times. Consequently, per day chicken production has reduced to 4,219 tonnes from 5,273 tonnes while egg production capacity per day decreased to 4.32 crore pieces from 6.64 crores.

“It is true that currently, broiler chicken producers are getting marginal profit, but its retail price is not fair compared to the wholesale price. The retail price which recently increased abnormally is just absurd. We want a stable broiler chicken market, and only the government can ensure it,” Mohsin told the press conference.

He said the government formed a committee in 2010 to fix broiler chicken prices, but it is not functional now.

The association’s Senior Vice President Khandaker Monir Ahmed said, “If the farmer gets Tk 10-15 profit from the sale of a broiler chicken, it will be a reasonable price. Also, farmers can survive securing a profit of 20-25 paisa over the production cost of eggs. Government intervention is needed to resolve the issues.”