The egg and broiler chicken market has been volatile for several days. Within a week, retail and wholesale egg prices have risen by Tk 10 a hali (four eggs), and broiler chicken has gone up by Tk 40 to 60. Eggs are now selling at Tk 50 a hali, or Tk 150 a dozen, and broiler chicken at Tk 200 to 220 a kg depending on the market.

This was the picture on a visit to several markets in the capital on Monday.

Traders and farmers blame the sudden rise on higher production costs, caused by abnormal increases in chick and feed prices along with rising prices of fuel oil, gas and other goods. An organisation of marginal farmers, on the other hand, held a press conference blaming a syndicate of corporate companies.

Those who bought broiler or eggs just a week ago were shocked when they came to market on Monday. The sudden rise has unsettled the market, with buyers and sellers arguing over prices at shop after shop.

At Segunbagicha bazar, Palash Ahmed said: "Last week I bought broiler at Tk 155. Now they are saying Tk 210. They are asking Tk 50 a hali for eggs that I bought at Tk 40. How is this possible? How will poor people run their households like this?"

Egg seller Yakub Ali said egg and chicken prices had shot up suddenly. "Prices go up at the wholesale depot every day. One thing today, another tomorrow. Every day I have to pay Tk 5 more a dozen. Chicken is going up Tk 10 a kg at a time. I don't know where these prices will stop."

Buying eggs from neighbourhood grocery shops costs a few taka more still; in some places eggs were selling at Tk 52 a hali. White farm eggs are a little cheaper, at Tk 48 a hali. Duck eggs are selling at Tk 80 to 85 a hali depending on the market.

Broiler chicken is selling at Tk 200 to 220 a kg depending on the market, Sonali chicken at up to Tk 340 to 350 a kg, and sellers are asking Tk 500 to 560 a kg for deshi chicken.

Kashem Sikdar, a seller at SM Enterprise in Karwan Bazar, said that with broiler going up, prices of all other kinds of chicken have risen by Tk 30 to 50. But there is no shortage of chicken in the market, he said.

He said raw material prices fluctuate from time to time. Demand for broiler rises in winter and supply falls a little, but that is normal, as at other times. He did not know why prices had suddenly jumped like this.

Md Suman Hawlader, president of the farmers' organisation the Poultry Association, told Jago News that egg and chicken prices had risen at the farm level, and this had affected the market. The reason is the abnormal rise in chick prices: on 5 January a chick cost Tk 9 to 10 each, and now it costs Tk 56.

He said this is happening just as farmers are taking chicks ahead of Ramadan and Eid. Last year these companies also doubled feed prices, which is why egg and chicken prices are now rising abnormally.

He claimed that corporate companies produce almost everything the poultry sector needs, including chicks, feed and medicine. They also produce eggs and chickens, and most are involved in contract farming with farmers. For that reason ordinary farmers cannot survive against them, and the companies are now forming syndicates in the market to raise prices.

Making these allegations, the Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA) also held a press conference on Monday at the Nasrul Hamid auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity, demanding that corporate companies stop producing chicken meat and eggs and stop contract farming. It said that marginal farmers had closed their farms after long failing to get fair prices for chickens and eggs; 1 lakh 60,000 farms have fallen to 60,000 through closures, and even then not all have birds. As a result, marginal farmers no longer control chickens and eggs.

The organisation said the cost to a marginal farmer of producing one egg is 11.11, 1 kg of broiler costs Tk 148 and 1 kg of Sonali chicken Tk 262. At current prices marginal farmers would get a fair price, he said.

But ordinary farmers have no chickens now, and the profit is going to the corporate companies, Suman Hawlader claimed.

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