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Egg price leaps to Tk180 a dozen !

Rice, chickens, vegs get pricier again bringing commoners to their knees


YASIR WARDAD | August 15, 2022 00:00:00


Price of farm egg, the key protein source for commoners, continued its rocketing trend as it hit an all-time high of Tk180 a dozen on Sunday morning in the city's many areas.

On the other hand, rice, chicken and some vegetables also witnessed a further hike on the day raising woes of the commoners.

The price of farm egg (brown) was a record Tk160 a dozen in the Saturday morning which was Tk150 on Friday last, Tk 130 a week ago and Tk 110 two months back, according to groceries.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the average price of farm egg was Tk110 a dozen in the last financial year (FY'22).

Considering the FY'22 average price, egg price is 64 per cent higher now.

Market insiders said decline in output, diesel price hike as well as trading syndication are three key reasons behind such tectonic hike in egg prices just in a week.

The price was already much high for costlier feed prices as well as rising load-shedding---6.0 to 10 hours a day in the farm areas, Bangladesh Egg Producers Association president Md Tahir Ahmed Siddiqi said.

The diesel price hike has come also as a big blow for the poultry sector, he said.

He added load-shedding has caused decline in egg production by 30 per cent across the country while Tk 34 hike in diesel price per litre also caused surge in carrying cost by Tk 2.0 per piece.

He said further production cost of brown egg has risen to Tk 9.5 per piece amid a fall in total output and those are trading at maximum Tk 10.5 in the farms situated mostly in the rural areas and suburbs.

The country's egg production is now 16.5 to 17 billion pieces annually which has witnessed a decline amid the existing problems, he added.

Department of Livestock Services (DLS) director (extension) Dr Md Abdul Aziz Al Mamun claimed egg production was an all-time high at 23 billion pieces in FY'22.

Asked, he said DLS has no data for now on the decline in production in recent times due to the ongoing load-shedding.

"We have asked for reports from the DLS officials in upazila level which will be disclosed soon", he said.

Department of Agricultural Marketing assistant director TM Rashed Khan said apart from a hike in the farms, market syndication in the city's big wholesales is raising the price further.

He added the Tejgaon egg market and other wholesales in the city should be monitored regularly.

He said despite the surge, the price gap between farms and city groceries is still Tk 5.0 a piece which should be minimised.

Meanwhile, prices of rice, chicken and some vegetables also witnessed further hike in a day.

Coarse and medium-variety rice prices witnessed further rise by Tk 2.0-3.0 a kg as those sold at TK 55-58 and Tk 62-65 a kg respectively.

Finer rice remained static on Sunday as it retailed at its previous high of Tk 75-98 a kg.

Chicken prices witnessed further hike by Tk 10-20 a kg as broiler was sold at Tk 190-210 and Pakistani at Tk 350-360 a kg. Tomato price witnessed Tk20 a kg hike as it retailed at Tk 140-150 a kg on the day.

Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) vice president SM Nazer Hossain said the government will have to reduce diesel price immediately before the situation of the essential market goes beyond control.

He said poor and low-middle income people have lost above 30 per cent of their real income just in few months amid such colossal surge in costs of essentials and services.

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