The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection says the price at which broiler chicken is selling in the market is unjustified. According to the agency, producing a kg of broiler now costs Tk 135 to Tk 140 at the level of corporate companies and Tk 150 to Tk 160 for marginal farmers, so selling it for more than Tk 200 a kg in the market is unjustified.

The consumer directorate said broiler chicken is currently selling at double its production cost.

The information came in a report formally submitted by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection to Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh on Sunday (19 March).

The directorate's director general, AHM Safiquzzaman, held a meeting with poultry industry traders on 9 March, and the report was prepared on the basis of the views expressed there. The report on the current state of the chicken market also sets out eight recommendations.

Quoting the director general, the report says that even after the rise in poultry feed and all other costs, the production cost of a kg of broiler is Tk 135 to Tk 140 at corporate level and Tk 150 to Tk 160 for marginal farmers. On current production costs, the price of a kg of broiler can be at most Tk 200.

The directorate has asked the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission to examine further what the market price of chicken should really be. It has also recommended an initiative to set chicken prices together with the Department of Livestock Services, another government body, and people involved in the poultry industry.

The recommendations in the report to keep chicken prices at a reasonable level include:

• investigating the reasons for the excessive price rises in the poultry feed and chicken markets;
• displaying daily price lists in shops and markets;
• dissolving the committee of any market where price lists are not displayed;
• strict action against dishonest traders;
• intensive nationwide market monitoring and drives, coordinated by the consumer directorate and other relevant offices and agencies, to keep the poultry market stable and supplies normal during the fasting month.

Meanwhile, on Monday (20 March), broiler chicken sold at Tk 280 to Tk 290 a kg. Sellers said chicken was already scarce because of low supply, and rain over the previous two days had cut supply further, pushing prices up. They also mentioned the corporate companies' control of the market.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.