Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA) has threatened to halt production of broiler chickens and eggs from January 1 if the interim government failed to address their demands, including curbing the influence of alleged corporate syndicates.

Corporate entities are increasingly monopolising and destabilising the market, said the platform of around 17,000 farmers and traders running small-scale operations by issuing a press release on Sunday.

The country has about 22,000 farms engaged in producing eggs and another 69,000 in rearing broiler chicken, according to the Department of Livestock Services.

Competition among the small-scale farms helps control prices and ensures market supply amidst demand, whereas the corporates end up controlling all aspects in the long run, they said.

Small-scale farms cannot compete with the rates offered by the big companies for eggs and chicken, they added.

To attain a balance in the market, the government should limit corporates to producing feed and day-old chicks while the production of eggs and broiler chicken should be left to the small-scale farms, they added.

The government should also have a mechanism to determine the prices of feed and chicks as the corporates have been "unreasonably" raising the rates, which has pushed up production costs of small farms, said the BPA.

Other demands of the association include ensuring loans on easy terms, support after calamities, separate markets for small farms, policies for regulating corporates and a stop to contractual farming.