Photo: Collected
Corporate businessmen are allegedly pocketing nearly Tk 6,000 crore annually through the sale of chicken feed and chicks at inflated prices. According to a special report by the Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA), a syndicate is picking up Tk 4,000 crore per year from feed sales alone. Additionally, over the past 8 months, they have allegedly gained Tk 1,920 crore by selling chicks at a markup of Tk 30 per unit.
Regarding this, BPA President Md. Suman Howlader told The Daily Messenger, “Using the Ukraine-Russia war and the increase in the dollar price as excuses, the syndicate is looting Tk 10 to 12 thousand crore just by selling chicken feed for the year. However, our report mentions a minimum looting of Tk 4,000 crore from selling feed at Tk 5 more per kg.”
Similarly, he commented that by selling broiler, layer, or Sonali chicken chicks at Tk 30 more per piece than the government-fixed price, they are misappropriating Tk 2,000 crore.
According to the report, the poultry industry needs 1 crore 20 lakh tons of feed annually for chickens, but production is only 80 lakh tons. The remaining 40 lakh tons are sourced from the domestic open market and imports.
Domestic feed producers have increased feed prices since May 2022, selling at Tk 70 to 120 per kg. They cited the Ukraine-Russia war as the reason for these increased prices. Currently, feed prices in neighboring countries are Tk 50 per kg. In Bangladesh, broiler chicken feed is being sold at Tk 72-76 per kg. Since 2022, the syndicate has been selling feed at over Tk 70. While in India feed is sold at Tk 50 per kg, in Bangladesh it is sold at a minimum of Tk 72 and up to Tk 120 per kg, leading to significant overcharging.
In addition, layer chicken feed is being sold at Tk 58 to 60 per kg, compared to Tk 36 per kg in India. The BPA believes that at least Tk 5 more per kg has been charged than the reasonable price, resulting in a profit of Tk 5,000 per tonne for the manipulative syndicate. With the sale of 80 lakh tonnes of feed, a minimum of Tk 4,000 crore has been misappropriated annually.
The Bangladesh Tariff Commission has conducted an investigation into the price increases. The investigation stated that the corporate syndicate charged Tk 15-20 more per kg than the reasonable price, leading to a total misappropriation of nearly Tk 12 to 16 thousand crore.
Additionally, 8 crore pieces of chicken chicks are sold every month. From September 2023 to April this year, the syndicate sold each chick at Tk 30 more. This has resulted in looting Tk 240 crore per month, totalling a minimum of Tk 1,920 crore over the last 8 months. Due to these excessive prices, consumers have to buy chickens and eggs at higher rates.
Consumers demand that it's time to stop the corporate syndicate in the poultry industry. Otherwise, thousands of farms in the country will close. Consumers will have to buy eggs at even higher prices.
However, members of the syndicate have denied increasing and selling chicken feed and chick prices through the syndicate. They say that along with the Ukraine-Russia war, the instability in dollar value has caused chicken feed prices to increase. There is no corporate syndicate in the market.
Mohammad Nazrul Islam, General Secretary of the Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB), the organisation of feed mill owners in the country, said that it's impossible to control local market prices by bringing poultry products from Pakistan at high import costs. And comparing Bangladesh's poultry product production costs with India's is completely unreasonable. Explaining the reason, Nazrul said that 100 per cent of the raw materials for this sector are produced in that country itself. They also have numerous alternative ingredients.
On the other hand, 68 per cent of the country’s products are import-dependent. In the last two years, due to the dollar crisis and high exchange rates, the cost per dollar for importing ingredients has increased by at least Tk 37.
He also said, “Nine world-renowned companies from India, China, and Thailand are spending hundreds of crores of taka to set up feed mills in Bangladesh. If they could export from their countries and sell at a lower price in our country to take control of our feed market, they wouldn't be establishing feed mills in this country.”
Kazi Zahin Hasan, Director of Kazi Farms, said that multiple government agencies' baseless allegations of widespread price manipulation, filing of lawsuits, and incidents of harassment and large fines against a few companies have discouraged investment in this sector. He also expresses concern about the possibility of a major product shortage in this sector in the near future.
Kazi Zahin Hasan added that thousands of farmers and businessmen are directly involved in the egg and chicken business daily. As a result, in a multi-faceted, highly competitive market, it is completely impossible for anyone to form a syndicate or manipulate prices. This entrepreneur also believes that along with ensuring a proper business environment in this sector and encouraging investment, all baseless cases filed against poultry companies should be withdrawn.
Messenger/Disha
