Chicken meat dearer as demand rises

Prices of chicken meat have risen after growing social gatherings and ensuing Shab-e-Barat and Pahela Baishakh festival fuelled the demand for the protein, said industry operators yesterday.

The spiral has further stretched the wallets of consumers, who are already bearing the brunt of higher prices of staple rice and edible oil.

In Dhaka, consumers are paying up to Tk 170 to buy one kilogram of broiler chicken from neighbourhood retail shops.

The prices of broiler chicken ranged from Tk 150 to Tk 160 per kg in Dhaka yesterday, up 3 per cent from a month ago.

The prices were 24 per cent higher from Tk 120-Tk 130 per kg witnessed on the same day a year ago after demand dropped substantially after the government announced the maiden case of coronavirus infections in the country.

“Many poultry farms have been shut because of the pandemic. They are yet to restart farming,” said Abu Taher, who runs a farm of 5,500 birds in Gazipur.

Insiders say the demand for chicken meat shot up ahead of Shab-e-Barat.

Muslims in Bangladesh will observe the Shab-e-Barat on the night of March 29. The Pahela Baishakh festival will be held in the middle of April.

Moshiur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council, said many poultry farms had suffered losses after demand collapsed because of the pandemic, forcing many to shut operations.

Breeders used to hatch 1.40 crore day-old chicks every week before the outbreak of the pandemic. The weekly production came down to 70-75 lakh in April 2020.

The government eased the restrictions on movement in June, and farming recovered later. But the recovery has not kept pace with the recent spike in demand for poultry, operators say.

“Social events, such as weddings, are taking place. Many people also buy chicken marking Shab-e Barat. Pahela Baishakh is another big event when consumption of poultry rises,” Rahman said.

Kayser Ahmed, managing director of Diamond Egg Ltd, said a portion of farmers switched to layer farming to produce eggs after the demand for broiler chicken dipped following the spread of coronavirus last year.

“At that time, the prices of eggs were higher,” he said. “As the prices of eggs are low now, a section of farmers will switch broiler farming.”