Supply shortage pushes egg price up

Hosain Ahmad

The prices of sugar and loose flour have eased a little but rice prices have remained unchanged on the city market over the last week, while the price of egg has inched up because of a supply dearth.

The supply of eggs has decreased as many poultry farms have been closed down due to bird flu attack, farmers and wholesalers said.

Eggs were being sold for Tk 78 a dozen at Polashi and Karwan Bazar kitchen markets on Friday, rising by Tk 6 over the week.

Abul Kasem, a retailer at Polashi Bazar, claimed the wholesalers had raised the egg price claiming fall in production.

Masum, a wholesaler at Tongi Natun Bazar, said, 'Once around 60,000 eggs used to be supplied every day to the wholesale market from the farms in Pubail area but that entire supply stopped 15 days ago as the farms in that area were closed down because of bird flu attack.'

Masum said, 'I used to buy 100 eggs for Tk 560 from the farmers, for which I now have to pay Tk 590. Now I have to sell 100 eggs for Tk 610.'

Bangladesh Egg Producers' Association organising secretary and Maa Enterprise owner Md Shahidul Islam Shahid told New Age that many poultry farms had been closed down following a spread of bird flu in different areas.

Shahid said, 'Since mid-February to date around 10,000 of approximately 30,000 poultry farms in the country have gone out of operation as layer chickens of the farms died from bird flu.'

He alleged importers were bringing in bird flu virus-infected eggs from India.

'By selling eggs for Tk 570 a hundred to the wholesalers the poultry farmers are incurring a loss of Tk 40 as their production cost is Tk 610,' he said, adding, 'We have to sell eggs at the price set by the wholesalers.'

The prices of all varieties of rice have remained unchanged over the last week. On Friday, the price of coarse rice at Karwan Bazar kitchen market ranged between Tk 35 and Tk 37 per kilogram, medium-grade rice between Tk 38 and Tk 42 per kg, and fine varieties of rice between Tk 42 and Tk 54 a kilo.

'We expect the coarse rice price to come down a bit when the newly harvested BRRI 28 and 29 hit the market after a week,' said Abdul Mannan, a retailer at Karwan Bazar.

He said, 'The amount of coarse rice harvested so far is not adequate enough to hit the Dhaka market after meeting local demands. We think it will hit the market in the next week with full force.'

The price of loose flour crawled down to the range of Tk 27 to Tk 30 per kg from that of Tk 29 to Tk 31 over the last week, while the price of packaged flour remained unchanged at Tk 34 to Tk 36 a kilo.

Sugar price has inched down by Tk 1 over the week to the range of Tk 52 to Tk 55 per kilo.

There has been no change in the price of any other essential commodity on the city market over the last week. The retail price of loose soya bean oil remained unchanged at Tk 103 to Tk 106 a litre, super palm oil at Tk 94 to Tk 95 per litre, and packaged soya bean oil at Tk 115 a litre.

On Friday, the price of imported varieties of onion stood at Tk 20 to Tk 22 per kilo and local varieties at Tk 18 to Tk 22 per kg. The local variety of red lentil was being sold for Tk 90 to Tk 95 per kg and the Nepali variety for Tk 96 to Tk 102 per kilo.

The price of beef also stood unchanged at Tk 250 to Tk 260 per kilo and that of broiler at Tk 125 to Tk 130 per kg.

Source: New Age