The price of egg increased notably in the last few days which traders attributed to a supply crunch amid the persisting mild heatwave which is sweeping across the country for the last several days.
The traders said all varieties of eggs became costlier in the last three days.
Visiting different markets on Tuesday, this correspondent found a dozen of farm egg (12 pieces) was selling at Tk 108-116 at retails in different parts of the city which was Tk 102-106 two days back.
Per hali (four pieces) egg was selling at Tk 36-38 on the day.
Sonali (known as Pakistani) and duck egg were sold at Tk 55-62 per hali while indigenous (local) variety at Tk 75-80 per hali at retail --- Tk 10 hike.
State-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data showed that prices of farm egg witnessed 13 per cent hike in a week while the current price is above 40 per cent higher compared to that of last year.
Kamrul Hasan, a Tejgaon-based wholesaler said farm owners raised egg prices amid a decline in production of the protein item.
He said they were buying 100 pieces of farm egg at Tk 770 (white) to Tk 820 (red) from Savar, Dhamrai, Cumilla, Tangail, Sirajganj, Pabna and elsewhere from the country which was hardly Tk 700-Tk 720 a few days back.
Md Helal Uddin, owner of Helal Poultry Farm at Atgharia upazila in Pabna, told the FE over mobile phone that production of egg has declined amid the persisting hot and humid condition and massive load-sheding.
"I usually get 1,500 egg a day (from the farm) which declined to 1,150 on Monday, he informed.
However, poultry egg producers were selling their produce at Tk 660-690 per 100 which was Tk 625-650 few days back, he mentioned.
Md Mohsin Khan, convener of Bangladesh Poultry Rakkha Jatiya Parishad, an association of small farmers in the country, said the recent price hike is normal as demand increases significantly amid a surge in fish and meat prices.
Apart from that, the farmers have been unable to maintain the required temperature at their farms because of the mild heatwave and load-sheding resulting in a fall in production, he noted.
But the farmers have raised prices slightly while middlemen in the districts and Dhaka have been making much profit from it, depriving both the farm owners and the consumers, he mentioned.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said egg is now a key protein source for the fixed-income group.
He said the government monitoring should be increased to minimise the price gap between the farm level and city retails to give the limited-income consumers a relief.
The country's 70,000 small and medium-scale poultry farmers produce 35 million pieces of egg a day, according to the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA).
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