Producing a kilo of beef costs Tk 587.50, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock told the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry at a meeting in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Wednesday, 28 October, where it set out the production costs of eggs, milk and meat.
By the ministry's figures, a kilo of Sonali chicken costs Tk 253 to produce and a kilo of broiler Tk 161.55. An egg costs Tk 10.81, a kilo of milk Tk 44.80 and a kilo of goat meat Tk 875.
Some members complained that markets were overcharging, in some cases well above production cost. The reply was that whether producers get a fair price also has to be looked at, since farmers do not sell at retail and goods pass through several hands before they reach shoppers. The committee then recommended checking whether the prices of fish, meat, eggs and milk exceed their production costs.
According to a parliament secretariat release, the committee also recommended market investigations and monitoring, in coordination with the commerce ministry, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection and other agencies, into complaints of unreasonable price rises, excess middleman profits, artificial shortages and supply irregularities.
The ministry's report said a strategy paper on stabilising the prices of day-old chicks and eggs has been sent to the ministry. Under it, the Department of Livestock Services, the ministry, the commerce ministry and the consumer rights directorate will assess market demand and keep production and supply in line with it.
The meeting stressed fish sanctuaries in water bodies, support for farmers at district and upazila level and continued market monitoring, and recommended an integrated action plan on marine fish exploration, catch and export markets to be put before the committee.
Committee chairman Khairul Kabir Khokon presided. State minister for fisheries and livestock Sultan Salahuddin Tuku and members Sheikh Md. Rezaul Islam, Nazrul Islam, M A Hannan, Ali Azam Md. Abu Bakar and Md. Amir Hamza attended, and fisheries and livestock minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid joined at the chairman's invitation. The report was by Prothom Alo's special correspondent.
Photo: Bull at the RDA dairy farm in Bogura, Ibrahim Husain Meraj / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Prothom Alo
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