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Commerce minister Farukh Khan on Wednesday warned entrepreneurs that permission would be given to import chicks if hatchery owners failed to reduce their prices in the local market. His warning came as imports of eggs, despite protest from businessmen, apeared to have lowered egg prices in the domestic market, reports bdnews24.com.
The commerce minister said the government will continue to allow imports of eggs if the market remains unstable. He made the statement while a delegation of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association met him at his office.
The government recently permitted GM Enterprise to import 20 crore eggs from India, where the first delivery of 3 lakh eggs reached Monday.
Retail price of eggs as stated in the website of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh was Tk 24-25 per hali (four eggs) for red eggs while Tk 23-24 for white ones. It was Tk 29-30 and Tk 28-29 respectively in August.
Masum Khan, a wholesaler at Tejgaon, on Wednesday told bdnews24.com: “We’re selling red eggs at Tk 500 for 100 pieces and white ones at Tk 450, while the price was Tk 580 and Tk 550 respectively two days ago.”
Retail price should be Tk 24 for red eggs and Tk 22 for whites per hali, he added.
Anwar, a retailer at Segunbagicha market, said he was selling red eggs at Tk 26, white at Tk 25 and local eggs at Tk 30 per hali.
He said price of farm eggs was two to three Tk higher per hali three days ago, but the wholesalers have now reduced the price.
Meanwhile, the poultry association members on Wednesday again argued that imports of eggs were harming the local industry. During their meeting with the commerce minister they demanded an immediate halt to imports of eggs.
Syed Abu Siddique, president of the association, after the meeting told reporters: “We, the farmers, sell eggs at Tk 5 per piece, but the middlemen push the rate.”

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