The Bangladesh Poultry Association, a platform of marginal farmers, on Monday demanded immediate action from the government to dismantle syndicate of big companies in the poultry sector to protect the interest of small growers and consumers.
Due to the syndicate of a few corporate companies, the prices of feed and day one chick remained excessively high in the country which was fuelling the production cost of chicken and eggs, the BPA claimed at a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the city.
BPA leaders said that, over the past 15 years, one lakh out of 1.6 lakh small farms had been forced to shut down due to the dominance of a syndicate of 4-5 corporate companies, which had led to the neglect of marginal farmers.
The BPA also claimed that the big companies in the sector gained an additional profit of Tk 5,920 crore in past one year through syndication in the feed and chick markets.
BPA president Sumon Hawlader said that in India, the price of feed ranged from Tk 40-50 a kilogram, that of a day one chick was between Tk 25-35, production cost of an egg was Tk 5 and that of broiler chicken was Tk 76-86 a kilogram.
But in Bangladesh, the price of feed was Tk 60-72 a kilogram, that of a day one chick was between Tk 60-100, production cost of an egg was Tk 10.29 and that of broiler chicken was Tk 155-170 a kilogram, he said.
Due to the high production costs, marginal farmers are facing losses of Tk 40- 60 per kilogram of chicken and the financial strain is leading to the closing down of many farms, as farmers are unable to receive a fair price for their products, Sumon said.
The BPA in its written speech said that the local companies were producing nearly 90 lakh tonnes of feed against the annual demand of 1.2 crore tonnes.
With a minimum additional price of Tk 5 per kilogram, this resulted in an extra profit of approximately Tk 4,000 crore per year鈥攑lacing the financial burden on consumers and marginal farmers, it said.
The association also claimed that the corporate companies were producing 8 crore day one chicks per month and an extra profit of Tk 30 per chick was being made.
From September 2023 to April 2024, this syndicate of hatcheries accumulated an estimated Tk 1,920 crore in extra profits, the BPA claimed.
The BPA leaders, however, said that the prices of day one chicks started to decrease slightly in May and after the fall of the government amid student-led mass uprising on August 5, prices had since dropped to Tk 25-30 per chick.
The association also blamed the Department of Livestock for favouring corporate groups saying that the department set prices of feed and chicks in meetings with the big groups excluding marginal commercial farms.
BPA vice-president Bappy Kumar Dey and general secretary Elias Khondoker also spoke at the event.