Now broiler chicken, egg prices shoot up

A little over a month into 2023 and the country�s kitchen markets have turned volatile again with prices of egg and broiler chicken shooting up.

Prices of broiler chicken increased by Tk 30 per kilo and eggs by Tk 15 by the dozen as reported by the city's kitchen markets on last Saturday.

However, the sudden increase in prices of broiler chicken and egg has created instability in Dhaka�s kitchen markets. While buyers and sellers have engaged in bitter arguments, what is unusual is that price of broiler chicken increased, decreased and then increased again in a matter of two months. Usually, demand for broilers increases during winter, supply decreases. But this time the unexpected had happened.

Earlier, a dozen of eggs were available for Tk 110. Then it rose to Tk 150. Then it decreased again to Tk 120. Now Tk 15 more per dozen is being demanded by sellers.

However, if one has to procure eggs from the market at this price, one definitely has to buy at a higher price from neighbourhood stores. And it is not only with poultry chicken or eggs, prices of a number of kitchen essentials are being hiked at an abnormal rate since the year began.

As far as hiking of poultry chicken is concerned, Bangladesh Poultry Association President said that prices of eggs and chickens have increased in farms ultimately resulting in increased price everywhere. Chickens are reportedly sold at farms for Tk 148 per kg. Moreover, he expressed fear that the price may increase further ahead.

Concurrently, a number of media reports suggested that there is a strong syndicate of corporate companies manipulating prices in the market. Moreover, since August last year, the feed prices increased in stages. As an expected outcome, many farmers have closed their farms. Now the corporate companies are controlling the egg market.

The point, however, our kitchen markets have been inflicted with unavoidable hits from rising prices of daily essentials including edible oil, rice and lentils in recent times.

While it is logical and understandable that higher cost of feeds, fuel and energy price are some of the key factors behind recent price hikes, there are also profit-mongering syndicates and traders those are also capitalizing on the situation by squeezing out whatever possible from the pockets of the people.





To finish with, it is urgent to restore discipline and strengthen monitoring in our poultry farm supply chain.

We believe, it is surely possible to ensure a stable price by addressing some of the bottlenecks and missing elements in our existing supply chain mechanism. Given the erratic nature of price hike of kitchen essentials in the country, be it edible oil or vegetable, common people are finding it difficult to make ends meet.