Dhaka:Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir called on egg traders to sell eggs at reasonable prices, urging them to avoid unjustified price hikes, excessive profits, and artificial shortages to maintain market stability.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the minister emphasized the importance of protecting consumer interests while ensuring fair profits across the supply chain from producers to retailers. This appeal was made during an exchange meeting with stakeholders in the egg and poultry sector at the Commerce Ministry's conference room.
Muktadir highlighted that eggs are a crucial daily food item for many people, and any significant price increases disproportionately affect low- and middle-income consumers. He stressed that businesses should not exploit the market by making excessive profits, creating artificial shortages, or imposing unreasonable barriers in the supply chain.
The minister also called for long-term planning to ensure stable egg prices throughout the year. During the meeting, traders discussed the rising production costs, citing increases in poultry feed prices such as corn and soybean, which have driven the cost of producing an egg to nearly Tk 11. They noted that the average selling price at the producer level rose from Tk 7.91 in January to about Tk 11.30 in September.
Traders pointed out that although eggs are often sold below production costs for part of the year, price hikes tend to receive more attention. They mentioned a typical price increase of Tk 1.50 to Tk 2 from producers to the retail market. To mitigate seasonal price fluctuations, traders suggested developing a system to store eggs for one to one-and-a-half months during surplus production periods.
In response to these concerns, the commerce minister assured that the government would carefully consider the sector's legitimate issues and proposals.
The meeting was attended by Commerce Ministry officials and various stakeholders from the egg and poultry sector, including representatives from Kazi Farms Ltd, Breeders Association, Feed Industries Association, Animal Health Companies Association of Bangladesh, Consumers Association of Bangladesh, and Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association.