Egg Prices Jump 50% in a Week as a Dozen Hits 180 Taka; Who Will Break the Syndicate?

❐ Staff Reporter

In just a week, the egg market has seen a major upheaval—prices have increased by almost one and a half times. In some markets in the capital, a dozen farm-raised chicken eggs are now being sold for 180 taka, compared to 120 taka just a week ago.

The sudden price hike has sparked anger among buyers, who blame the government’s lack of oversight and syndicates.

Low- and middle-income families are the most affected. As the price of eggs, a staple in the diet as a source of affordable protein, has risen, many families are now forced to buy fewer eggs than they need. Some have even been forced to eliminate eggs from their diet altogether.

A visit to various markets in the capital has shown that the price of a dozen eggs has currently ranged from a minimum of 165 to a maximum of 180 taka. Accordingly, consumers have to pay 55 to 60 taka to buy a single egg, which was 40 taka just a week ago.

At the current market price, an egg costs 15 taka—that’s the price of a lemon. However, every year during the month of Ramadan, an egg is usually available for the price of a lemon, while the price of a lemon increases to 150 taka.

Retailers claim that the prices of various products in the market increase abnormally from time to time due to the syndicate of middlemen.

According to them, just as marginal farmers or ranchers do not receive a fair price, retailers cannot make much profit either—it is the middlemen who reap the real benefits when the price of a product increases abnormally.

Bapparaj, a grocery shopkeeper in the capital’s Rampura area, said that wholesale traders claim that the egg crisis has arisen due to the floods.

However, his own opinion is that the flood is not the only reason for the price increase in such a short period of time, but rather that a syndicate of middlemen is involved.

Citing an example, he questioned, how did the price of polao rice reach 150 to 250 taka in a month without a syndicate?

Housewife Munira Ferdous got into an argument with a shopkeeper while buying eggs in Shyorapara on Sunday morning. She alleged that the shopkeeper had demanded a basket of eggs for Tk 55 in order to extort money from her. In the end, she left the shop without buying anything.

What is behind the price increase?

According to poultry industry insiders, egg prices rise rapidly when supply falls short of demand. The daily demand for eggs in the country is around 3.5 to 4 crore, so even a small deficit in production or supply has a big impact on the market.

However, another major reason for the price increase is manipulation – even if farmers do not receive a fair price, middlemen never sell eggs at a low profit, but rather wait to exploit the crisis.

In this regard, Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) Secretary General M Safir Rahman said, the increase in egg prices mainly depends on supply and demand. In the recent severe floods, numerous layer farmers in the country have been severely affected – chickens and eggs have been washed away in the floodwaters, and eggs produced by many farmers have also been destroyed. As a result, a major supply crisis has suddenly arisen in the market, which is the main reason for the price increase.

However, he also expressed his anger, saying that farmers never get the benefit of the high prices paid by consumers. There is a huge gap between the selling price of farmers and the purchase price of consumers, because farmers do not get the opportunity to sell their products directly to consumers.

Middlemen exploit this loophole to extract more profits, while the blame is placed on the farmers.

It is worth noting that this July, farmers in various districts of the country broke eggs on the highway in a symbolic protest against not getting a fair price for poultry and eggs.

According to BPIA, it costs about 10 taka to produce an egg at the farm level, but has to be sold for about 6 taka—meaning farmers have to count a loss of 4 taka on each egg.

The biggest crisis has been faced by marginal farmers, the main driving force of the poultry industry, due to the lack of adjustment of egg prices at the farm level for a long time. According to the organization, about 64,000 farmers have dropped out of the sector in the last five years.