Marginal farmers are blaming "a handful" of corporate companies for the instability in the country's broiler chicken market. They allege that the corporate companies suddenly cut prices just as marginal farmers' birds become ready for sale, leaving them with one loss after another. The corporate firms are carrying out this "manipulation" mainly to "force" farmers into contracts with the big companies, they say.

The allegations were made in a press release sent by Bangladesh Poultry Association on Wednesday (29 March). The association's president, Sumon Howlader, also made some suggestions for solving the problem, including a demand for a poultry board.

The press release said: "The big four egg and chicken producing companies told a meeting with the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection on 23 March that they would make a loss if broilers were sold at Tk 190–195. Yet for unknown reasons they are now selling chickens at Tk 150–160!"

It added: "The main reason is that in January marginal farmers shut their farms after making losses because they did not get fair prices. Later, seeing a good broiler market, marginal farmers wanted to return to production. At exactly that time the companies raised feed prices. They also raised the price of chicks. Farmers accepted the higher prices and restarted their farms on borrowed money. Just as the chickens on their farms became ready for sale, the corporate companies suddenly brought the chicken market to rock bottom as if by magic, so that marginal farmers would make losses and be unable to survive, and would be forced to sign contracts with them."

Saying that farmers are being hit again and again by the arbitrary conduct of the corporate companies, the release said: "Whenever marginal farmers' chickens come into production, they cut market prices and ruin the farmers. There must be a solution to this."

Setting out marginal farmers' losses, the release said: "At present the production cost of one kg of broiler for the country's marginal farmers is Tk 170–175, while the corporate companies' production cost is Tk 130–140. Marginal farmers now have to sell a kg of broiler at the Tk 150–160 rate fixed by the companies. As a result, farmers are losing Tk 25 on every kg of broiler."

Asking how long marginal farmers can survive on losses, the association's leaders said: "The corporate syndicate will suddenly cut prices, push marginal farmers into losses and ruin them. To make farmers shut their farms, they always raise farmers' production costs and cut chicken prices, so that farmers cannot return to production, or so that they are forced under the corporate firms' contracts. That is why the syndicate is formed. This syndicate takes hundreds of crores of taka out of the market."

Demanding punishment for those involved in the syndicate, the release said: "The proof is that a handful of corporate companies took Tk 518 crore 50 lakh in 15 days from August 2022, and Tk 936 crore from 31 January to 23 March this year, by raising the prices of chickens and chicks without justification. Hundreds of crores of taka are being taken by syndicating and pushing marginal farmers out of production. They want to establish their domination over this industry too. We want them to be punished severely."

Saying the government needs to pay attention to restoring stability in the sector, the release said: "Marginal farmers must be given all facilities through the Department of Livestock Services and fair prices must be ensured. Then farmers will stay competitive in the market. Otherwise Bangladesh's consumers will always be held hostage by corporate groups, the proof of which you have already seen. Therefore the government needs to take note now and look for a solution."

• Form a poultry board with the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture, poultry science professors from various universities and poultry stakeholders.
• Set the selling prices of chicks and poultry feed on the basis of their production costs, and likewise set the selling prices of eggs and chickens on the basis of their production costs.
• Keep marginal farmers in production by establishing fair prices for the eggs and chickens they produce.

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