The prices of chicken, which began to drop before Eid-ul-Azha, have now dropped further.

In addition, the prices of chicks for farmers have also dropped, pushing down the production cost, and hopefully reducing the production cost for poultry farmers in future. Farmers are also hopeful that the price of poultry feed, which is now trending up, will also come down.

Broiler chicken is being sold for Tk 160-170 per kg in the kitchen markets across Dhaka, the lowest price this year, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

The price of Sonali chicken has also dropped by about Tk 100 and now stands at Tk 300-Tk 310 per kg.

Chicken prices were stable for a decade and then began to rise in 2022. At that time, the issue of big corporate houses controlling the market came to light.

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection spoke about trying to regulate the market and there were discussions with the big corporate houses on the issue. Many heated debates took place.

Before and after Eid-ul-Fitr, chicken was quite expensive. At one point, broiler chicken prices rose to Tk 250-Tk 260 per kg while Sonali chicken prices went up to Tk 420.

But after Eid-ul-Azha prices began to ease and then drop. Farmers say they are facing financial losses due to the current prices. Hence, many poultry farmers are not breeding new chicks.

The lack of demand has pushed down the prices of chicks as well. Currently, one-day-old chicks are available at Tk 37-Tk 40 per piece, the lowest price in the last six months.

For the past two years, poultry farmers have been vocal in their complaints about the rising price of chicks and poultry feed. There was a time when a day-old chick was sold for Tk 100. The price of poultry feed prices also went up by more than one and a half times during that time.

Chicken traders believe that people were ‘fed-up’ with meat post-Eid and that reduced the demand for chickens.

Trader Al-Amin was selling broiler chicken at Tk 170 per kg at the kitchen market adjacent to Tejkunipara rail tracks in Tejgaon on Friday. He was giving a discount to those buying in large quantities, setting the price at Tk 165 per kg.

“People will be reluctant to eat meat for about another month,” he said.

Md Liton, another trader nearby, was selling chickens at Tk 160, a price lower than Al-Amin’s by Tk 10.

“As far as I can gather, chicken prices are at their lowest in the past year,” Liton said.

He bought broiler chicken at Tk 145 from the wholesale market in Gulistan on Thursday. His profit stood at Tk 15 per kg, but he also had to bear some additional costs, he said.

Roksana Parveen bought a chicken that weighed one and a half kg at Tk 240 from Liton. “I bought chicken from Liton Bhai at Tk 180 two days after Eid-ul-Fitr. I thought today the price would go up, but found it was Tk 20 lower. We hope the price will stay this way forever,” she said.

Md Foyez of Bangla Chicken House in Karwanbazar sold broiler chicken at Tk 170 per kg.

“People still have the taste of meat lingering on their taste buds, so there’s no demand. As such, the prices fell. I’ve been running this chicken business in Karwan Vazar for the last 18 years but never saw something like this. There are hardly any customers,” he said.

On Sunday, Mohammed Dulal of Faruk Chicken Broiler House sold chicken at Tk 170 per kg. He sold Sonali chicken at Tk 300 per kg, with the rate at Tk 160 per kg if a customer buys 5 kg or more.

PRICE DROP AFFECTS POULTRY FARMS

A drop in the prices of chicken has caused issues for poultry farmers.

Md Nuruddin, a poultry farmer in Dhaka’s Khilgaon, has 46,000 broiler chicks this time. He still has 6,000 chickens in his shed.

He sold chicken at Tk 140 per kg on Friday though his production cost was more than Tk 30 per kg.

“We poultry farmers, are facing financial losses now. Many farmers in Khilgaon shut their business after facing the loss post-Ramadan,” he said.

“We bought chicks at Tk 60 per piece. Then we have to provide 2.5-3 kg of feed to grow the chicks to 1.5 kg. Then there’s the cost of medicine, electricity, water and other things. Altogether, the production cost stands at Tk 171.”

He demanded a drop in the prices of chicks, adding that everything would return to normal if they were less costly.

“We don’t want the chicken prices to rise beyond the purchasing capacity of the public, but we don’t want to bear financial losses either.”

Alauddin Sarkar, a farmer in Narayanganj’s Rupganj said he bore a loss of Tk 40,000 after selling 1,000 chickens.

“I pursued the agents for a long time and finally bought chicks at Tk 70 per piece. I would have continued to farm poultry if I at least broke even. But now I’m thinking of shutting it down,” Alauddin said.

Farmer Nuruddin said that many farmers were not buying new chicks after facing financial losses. As a result, the price has dropped.

“A few of my sheds are empty. But I am afraid of buying new chicks after bearing the losses last time. The chicks used to be pricier and sometimes they were unavailable even after ordering. Now they are available for Tk 40 per piece. But poultry feed is still expensive. It costs Tk 3,570 per sack.”