Broiler Chicken: Prices have increased several times in Sylhet

Housewife Tahmina Akhter is shopping in the raw market of Madina Market area of the city as guests will come home. After all the shopping, he came to buy chicken and was worried. Because the price of broiler chicken has increased. Where earlier he could buy a chicken weighing 1.5 kg for 200 taka, now he can't buy a 1 kg chicken for that money.

Tahmina said, suddenly the price of chicken increased. Broiler chickens were a boon to those of us in the lower middle class. But this chicken is a golden deer to us. Because earlier, one and a half kg chicken could be eaten well with everyone in the house for 200 to 220 taka. Mehman was actually enough if he took two kg of chicken. But now I have to settle a lot of calculations to get one and a half kg chicken. Because if I buy two kg of chicken, my five hundred taka is gone. It does not contain 1 kg of broiler chicken. One and a half, two or two and a half kg chicken should be taken.

The price of broiler chicken has increased several times in the space of two months in Nai Sylhet across the country. In the last month and a half, the price of chicken increased from Tk 160 per kg to Tk 250 in different markets of Sylhet. Somewhere chicken has been sold at Tk 260/70 per kg. Buyers and retailers are in trouble.

Looking for the reasons for the increase in the price of broiler chicken, it is known that the supply of broiler chicken comes to the market in three stages. In the first step, the company produces the baby. In the second step dealers buy chicks from the company and sell them to farmers, many farmers also buy chicks directly from the company. Farmers raise the chicks and sell them to wholesale and retail traders after a certain number of days. Then the buyer buys the chicken from the market. Basically, the effect of rising market prices in all sectors has fallen on these three stages. Hence the price of broiler chicken has increased.

Speaking to farmers, dealers, wholesalers and retailers, broiler chicken prices have gone up due to lower chick production compared to demand, increase in feed (chicken feed) prices, medicated broiler chicken prices, higher electricity bills and increased labor costs.

Biplab Kanti Chowdhury, farmer of Biplab Poultry Farm, said that electricity is the main driving force of poultry chicken farm. That electricity unit has gone from 8 taka to 12 taka. The 20% discount we used to get on the bill has also stopped. Six months ago I bought the feed for 2350 rupees, now that feed has to be bought at a price of more than 3700 rupees. 400 rupees medicine has become 720 rupees. A bunch of paddy could be brought home for 120 taka, but now it is not even available for 250 taka.

Biplab Kanti Chowdhury, referring to the low production of chicks, said that the artificial crisis of chicks does not happen all the time. According to the season, the companies reduce the baby production. For example, during the first fast, Shabbat, Eid, Puja Parban, wedding season, companies reduce production. Then the demand is high, dealer farmers all want to take more children. In that case, companies charge double the price of a day-old child. Its burden then falls on farmers, dealers, wholesalers and retailers.

Dealer and wholesaler Bhai Bhai Poultry director Mashedur Rahman said that there is no opportunity to increase prices by syndicating in this business. When we buy babies from the company at a higher price, we have to sell them at a higher price. We don't get babies as per demand even after paying the company in advance and applying. Besides, the price of feed has almost doubled. Electricity prices have increased. All in all, the price of poultry chicken has increased.

In this regard, the owner of Poultry Shop in Madina Market of the city said. Sajibur said, we are retailers. We can't raise the price right now. We buy from wholesalers at low prices and sell at high prices. When asked why the price is high, the farmers and wholesalers say that the production is low and the price of feed is high. It is true. The price of feed in the market has increased a lot. Moreover, the price of everything related to this business has increased, so the price of chicken has increased in the retail market.

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