Price shock hits Bangladesh poultry farmers

Poultry farmers in Bangladesh are concerned about a lack of price competition now that eggs from India are being imported after government restrictions on such items were lifted, according to reports.

Forward bookings for day-old layer chicks are now trending downward.

The price of a set of four eggs was BDT32 as of mid-August, and has now decreased to BDT26 at the retail level. Those in the industry are blaming the imports from India for creating an upswing in supply and the resulting lower prices.

“The reality is that we are cheated by all -- from breeders and feed millers to egg sellers,” said Khandker Md Mohsin, general secretary of Bangladesh Poultry Khamar Rakkha Jatiya Sangram Parishad.

The allowance for imported eggs from India coincided with many farms in Bangladesh re-opening after bird flu outbreaks which closed almost half of the country’s poultry farms.