Home ›› 20 Jul 2022 ›› News
The price of eggs, one of the main sources of protein, further increased last week as consumers, particularly those from low-income groups, continue to struggle to meet their daily nutritional needs in the face of rising prices for essential commodities.
What is even more concerning is that although farms are lowering their prices, eggs are still getting more expensive at the retail level, say industry insiders.
Farms reduced the price of red and white farm eggs by up to Tk 30 per 100-piece in the past week, they said.
However, city grocers are selling eggs at an increased price of Tk 83-125 per 100-piece, which means a customer is having to pay an additional Tk 10-15 for a dozen.
According to traders, eggs have to pass through several hands to reach the retailers from farms. During this process, when farm prices fall, the intermediaries (middlemen) increase prices for additional profits. As such, although farm prices change, retail prices do not.
On Tuesday, while some grocery stores around the capital were selling red farm eggs at Tk 120 per dozen, others were selling at Tk 130-135 per dozen, compared to Tk 120 last week.
Besides, while some stores were selling white farm eggs at Tk 115 per dozen, many others were selling them at Tk 120 per dozen.
On Tuesday, farms sold red eggs at Tk 860-870 per 100-piece, a Tk 30 reduction from Tk 890-900 last week.
Similarly, farms sold white eggs at Tk 770-785 per 100-piece, a reduction of Tk 20-30 from Tk 800-805 last week.
The data was provided by Bangladesh Poultry Khamar Rakkha Jatiya Parishad (BPKRJP) and Poultry Professionals Bangladesh (PPB). When contacted, BPKRJP General Secretary Khandkar Mohsin told Business Post that on farms, egg production did not match the price of poultry feed, despite which farmers lowered egg prices last week.
“However, the gap between the wholesale and retail markets is widening due to a lack of monitoring, a decline in the supply of eggs during Eid, and the unethical profit motive of certain traders,” he added.
