Broiler at Tk 190 in Dhaka, only Tk 134 at the farm: Tk 53 gap per dozen eggs too, as small farmers count losses

Broiler chicken sells for Tk 190 per kilogram in Dhaka's markets, yet the small farmer who raised it sold it for only Tk 134 per kilogram — a gap of Tk 56 per kilogram between the two levels. Unable to meet production costs, one farmer says he lost around Tk 50,000 on a single consignment.

The picture is much the same for eggs. On Wednesday (October 21), red eggs sold in Dhaka's markets for Tk 155 per dozen. Small farmer Ariful Islam, on the other hand, says he sold each egg for Tk 8.50 — meaning Tk 102 per dozen at farm level. The gap between the two levels there is Tk 53 per dozen.

Farmers complain that while the prices of chicken feed and medicine have risen, the selling price of what they produce has not risen in proportion. The price gap in the broiler and egg markets, the rise in poultry feed prices and the farmers' losses therefore raise a question — where in the chain from production to consumer is this pressure being created?

The question sharpens in two directions: is the rise in feed raw-material prices the main cause of the crisis, or is the influence of middlemen in the supply chain also adding to the instability? Farmers' accounts say costs are rising inside the farm, but the benefit of higher prices is not reaching them.

Small farmer Shafiur Rahman says: 'This week I sold chicken at Tk 134 per kilogram. Production costs are much higher now. In just the last two months, broiler feed prices have risen by Tk 225. A 50-kilogram sack now costs Tk 3,785. Medicine prices have also gone up.'

Laying out his own farm's losses, he says he raised 1,200 chickens. Of those, he sold about 1,000. On this consignment he lost around Tk 50,000. Some of the remaining chickens died, and about 70 kilograms of chicken are still left on the farm.

According to Shafiur Rahman's figures, alongside rising feed and medicine costs, the selling price not keeping pace with production costs is what forces him to count losses. If such losses repeat over several consignments, farmers' working capital shrinks.

When capital shrinks, raising new chicks, buying feed and keeping the farm running can become difficult. In other words, the loss on one consignment does not stay limited to that consignment — it puts the next production cycle under pressure as well.

Dhaka chicken trader Afzal, on the other hand, says: 'Chicken prices rise and fall based on Kaptan Bazar. When supply is good there, prices fall, and when supply is low, prices rise. There, chicken sells at one price at night and another price in the morning.' His account shows how supply conditions at the central wholesale market play a big role in setting prices in the capital.

Like broiler farmers, egg producers are also under the pressure of extra costs. Layer egg farmer Ariful Islam says: 'Today I sold each egg for Tk 8.50. Feed prices have risen by Tk 325 per sack. A sack now costs more than Tk 2,900 in the market. There is not much profit from selling eggs. The consignment just about pays for itself.'

At his rate, the farm-level selling price works out to Tk 102 per dozen eggs. On Wednesday, meanwhile, red farm eggs sold in Dhaka's markets for Tk 155 per dozen. In other words, a large part of the price the consumer pays for eggs is not reaching the farmer.

Taken together, the picture is this: costs are rising on the farm through feed and medicine, prices are rising for consumers in retail markets, but the price farmers receive in between is not rising in proportion. The gaps — Tk 56 per kilogram for broiler and Tk 53 per dozen for eggs — are the clearest accounting of that pressure.

If this gap persists, small farmers' losses and capital shortages risk growing further. How far feed raw-material prices, the supply system and the role of middlemen are each responsible has now become the key question in understanding this market.