The country's poultry producers have urged the government to step in and fix chicken and egg prices for the local market, as they are currently making losses although the consumers are paying high for the two items.

The government should take into account the production cost of the two poultry items and fix their prices by keeping a profit margin of Tk 15-20 a chicken and Tk 0.25-0.45 an egg for the producers, they said.

The leaders of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) came up with the demands at a press meet at Dhaka Reporters' Unity in the capital today.

The leaders of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) placed their demands at a press meet at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital today. Photo: Collected

The poultry industry had never been so volatile in the last 31 years, BPIA Secretary General Khandaker Md Mohsin said at the event.

Before the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the country had 1.58 lakh poultry farms, out of which only 95,523 are currently in operation and the rest are either closed or suspended production, he said.

After Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of farm owners had to leave the sector for good, Mohsin said.

BPIA President Shah Habibul Haque said both the poultry producers and consumers are now feeling the pinch of the price hike.

A solution is needed which can benefit all the stakeholders, he said.

In 2010, the livestock ministry formed a committee, which was supposed to prepare a strategy to keep poultry prices tolerable, BPIA Joint General Secretary Nurul Morshed Khan said.

The special committee was also assigned to fix prices of one-day-old chicks and monitor the market to help the ministry set egg and chicken prices, he said.

But the committee is of no use now, as it failed to keep poultry prices stable, Khan said.

At the press meet, the BPIA also recommended the government come up with a stimulus package and extend tax holiday facility for the sector until 2030.