Chicken meat prices have started to increase in the city kitchen markets following rising demand, traders said.
They said prices of birds, which decreased significantly after the Eid-ul-Azha, the sacrificial festival, began to rise.
Chicken meat of broiler, layer, Pakistani and local varieties increased by 12-20 per cent in the last three days, after staying lower prices for the last one month,.
Broiler chicken was sold at Tk140-145 per kg in the key kitchen markets of the city on Saturday, which was Tk125-130 per kg a week back-a 12 per cent increase.
Pakistani variety was sold at Tk250-260 (medium sized) and Tk350-360 (big sized) per piece, which was Tk200-220 and Tk300-320 per piece respectively seven days back, Matiar Ali, a retailer at Nowabganjbazar said.
He said local varieties were sold at Tk320-350 (medium sized) and Tk400-450 (big) per which was Tk260-300 and Tk380-400 few days back.
"I bought broiler at Tk132 per kg from a farm at Baliarpur, Savar today that was Tk 119-120 per kg two days back," he said.
He said prices have increased recently at the farm level in Gazipur, Tangail, Savar that had an impact on the retail prices.
Md Rabiul Islam Sujon, a poultry farm owner at Bangalipur area under Dhamrai upazila in Dhaka told the FE over phone that price fall is getting reversed after the Eid-ul-Azha that pushed down meat demand at households and restaurants.
"The demand for meat was low after the Eid. Now demand is rising, so is the price," he said.
Breeders Association of Bangladesh secretary Saidur Rahman Babu told the FE that the lower demand hit hard the sector for the last 40 days.
"Production cost of per kg broiler chicken is now not less that Tk135 but they had to sell it below the production cost," he said.
He said the recent increase in demand is positive for the sector, which is still struggling with the impact of bird flu.
According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), the country's 75,000 commercial poultry farms provide 6.0 million tonnes of chicken meat annually, accounting for 45 per cent of the total protein the country consumes.
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