Broiler chicken prices to go down by Tk30-40

Large corporate farms have announced to reduce broiler chicken price by Tk 30-40 per kg to Tk 190-195 during the month of Ramadan.

Farmers made this announcement at a joint press conference with Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) officials after a pre-scheduled hearing at the DNCRP office at Karwan Bazar in the capital on Thursday. However, there was no discussion about the price of eggs at the hearing.

“Now it is expected that broiler chicken price will come down by Tk 30-40 per kg at the consumers’ level during Ramadan,” said DNCRP Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman at the press conference.

He said, “Discussion was held with Kazi, CP, Paragon, and Aftab farms’ representatives. We have reached a consensus about poultry chicken price.”

Broiler chickens were sold at Tk 220-230 per kg in these farms till Thursday.

Shafiquzzaman said, “We will monitor prices at the wholesale and retail levels when sales begin at the farm level, to ensure that the traders do not make an unreasonably huge profit.”

Broiler chickens were sold at Tk 260-270 per kg in the retail market on Thursday, and marginal farms sold at Tk 225-230 per kg.

Earlier on Wednesday, the DNCRP summoned Kazi Farms Limited, Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Limited, CP Bangladesh, and Paragon Poultry and Hatchery Limited to find out the reason for selling broiler chicken at high prices. At the hearing, the corporate farms claimed that the price of poultry feed has increased again after March 9, increasing the production cost of chicken further.

DNCRP DG Shafiquzzaman said, “We have told the businessmen that we will support them, but won’t accept making extra profit. So, they agreed to reduce the price.”

However, if the price of chicken does not decline in the market even then, we will recommend importing chicken, he said.

Kazi Jahedul Hasan, managing director of Kazi Group, said, “The supply of chicken is very low this year. I have never seen such low supply before.”

He said, “We used to sell broiler chicken at a wholesale price of Tk 220 per kg. Today, after discussion, we have decided to reduce the wholesale price to Tk 190-195. The price at the retail level will be determined by various departments of the government.”

However, according to DNCRP’s March 9 data, the production cost of broiler chicken in corporate farms is Tk 130-140 per kg. And the cost of production in marginal farms is Tk 150-160. The directorate earlier said that the reasonable price of broiler chicken should not be more than Tk 200 at the retail level.

Asked, Safikuzzaman could not tell the current production cost of broiler chicken. At the same time, the farm owners also did not answer this question.

Besides, no one has given an answer as to why the farmers are selling at such high prices, even though the production cost is Tk 130-140.

However, Fazle Rahim Khan, managing director of Aftab Bhumukhi Farm, said, “If we sell at Tk 190-195 per kg, we will incur losses. If it continues for too long, the production will stop.”