Believe it or not, on retail markets in the capital Dhaka, one farm egg is selling for Tk 10. It is unprecedented in the country. Only less than a dozen one-day chick breeders are mainly responsible for such sky-high prices. Of course, the poultry farm owners, poultry feed producers and government decision-makers are partially responsible as well. People are very unhappy with such a high price of eggs.
The prices of poultry birds have increased twofold in the past few years. The majority of the people in the country are either poor or ultra-poor. They struggle to manage two meals a day. As the egg and poultry birds were relatively less costly, they used to opt for these items. Those are out of their reach now.
It is unbelievable that an elected government has been showing apathy and has not taken steps it could take to rescue the common millions. The one-day chick producers are making propaganda that duty-free import of one-day chick and eggs would spread bird flu and destroy poultry farms in the country. Indeed, it is their strategy to monopolise one-day chick business and sell a one-day chick at even Tk 60, which should not be more than Tk 20.
To save the consumers the government should open import of one-day chicks and farm eggs and to support the poultry farms aggregate of VAT, AIT etc may be imposed at Tk 0.50 per egg for import.