Egg prices rise for supply shortage

The price of eggs, which is one of the most basic sources of protein for many fixed and low-income people in Bangladesh, has increased in local markets over the past week due to a supply shortage.

Consumers are already facing a difficult time making ends meet for an increase in the prices of essential food commodities.

And now, eggs are eating away a bigger chunk of their budgets.

Businesspeople said so far, 64 upazilas across 11 districts have witnessed floods, causing suffering for farmers and decreasing production.

Moreover, due to high humidity, chickens are not eating properly, they added.

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There is a daily demand for 5.5 crore eggs in the country and production has dropped by 35 lakh, they said.

Nurul Alam Sikder, a retailer in Dhaka's Mirpur area, said he sold a dozen eggs for Tk 160 yesterday while it was Tk 150 a week ago as wholesale prices have risen.

"Now I am tired of telling the buyers the reasons for the price hike. Some are even venting their anger at me," he added.

However, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, which collects data from three kitchen markets in Dhaka, cited that the price had not increased over the past week and instead only grew by 3 percent over the past month.

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Amanat Ullah, president of the Tejgaon Egg Merchants Association, said prices started to rise since August 20 when floods hit the 11 districts.

However, the situation has somewhat improved and prices have started to fall, he added.

"Yesterday I sold every 100 eggs at Tk 1,160 while it was Tk 1,180 to Tk 1,190 a week ago," Amanat said.

Chicken farms in many districts have been affected by recent floods, which disrupted production and supply and increased prices, he added.

Amanat also said he believes egg prices may drop within a couple of weeks.

Khandaker Md Mohsin, a farmer in Gazipur and secretary general of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association, said the chickens that survived in flood affected areas are now laying fewer eggs than normal.

Additionally, egg production has dropped by around 30 percent due to the weather, he said.

Now, the price of white eggs at the farm level is Tk 11.20 per piece. And the price of brown eggs is Tk 11.50 to Tk 11.60. Due to reduced production, the prices are slightly higher than normal, Mohsin added.

Kayser Ahmed, managing director of Diamond Egg, one of the largest producers and marketers of eggs, said they were selling eggs at the price set by the government.

"The prices have increased due to a gap in demand and supply caused by the floods," he added while informing that it may take flood affected farms up to seven months to restore their setup of layer hens and regain normal egg production.

Sumon Howlader, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Association, claimed that about 4,000 marginal farmers have suffered losses of around Tk 600 crore collectively as roughly 500,000 layer hens were lost in the floods.

As such, egg production has decreased by 4 to 5 percent, he said.

"We request the interim government to break up the syndicate of poultry feed and chicks and seek intervention to fix reasonable prices for eggs and chickens produced by local farmers," Howlader added.