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The prices of egg, one of the main protein items, significantly increased last week in the capital, compounding owes of the consumers.
The prices of one hali (four pieces) of eggs rose to Tk 38 on Thursday at the city retail markets from Tk 34-35 earlier.
Sector insiders said rising demand, followed by a surge in the prices of two other main protein items - meat and fish - are the key reasons for the hike.
They also pointed out that production of egg declined in the country recently causing the upward trend in its prices.
Md Azizul Hoque, a grocer at Jafrabad in Mohammadpur, said he bought farm eggs at Tk 890 per 100 pieces yesterday from a supplier form Tejgaon egg market, up from Tk 820-830 seven days back.
He said the prices of both broiler chicken and egg started to surge following increase in fish and meat prices.
However, local variety of eggs were selling at Tk 65-68 per hali and duck egg and Pakistani variety at Tk 50-55 a hali in different markets - a Tk 4.0 -5.0 hike.
Md Tahir Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Egg Producers' Association (BEPA), told the FE that demand for poultry birds and eggs have surged notably following increase in beef, mutton and fish prices.
He said production cost also increased 20-25 per cent as prices of poultry feed increased in recent months.
He said a kilogram of poultry feed was selling at Tk 38 on the day.
However, Secretary General of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) Dr Munzur Murshid Khan said production of egg witnessed a decline by 10-12 per cent in the last calendar year.
He expected that the trend may continue also this year.
He said a significant number of poultry farmers have shut their operation in the last two years amid low prices of the protein item.
Egg was sold at Tk 3.5 to Tk 5.0 a piece at farm level in 2017 and the first half of 2018 against the production cost of Tk 6.5-7.5 for a piece.
According to the BPIA, the country's 55,000 poultry farms produce nearly 16.0 billion pieces of egg annually.
The prices of broiler chicken also showed a further hike last week by Tk 5.0 per kg and was selling at Tk 145-150 a kg on Thursday.
Early summer vegetables including snake gourd, pointed gourds, sponge gourds, clocasia stem (kochu loti) and long bean, hit the market last week but were sold at much higher rates.
Such items were sold at Tk 65-100 a kg at different markets.
Prices of lentil, Nepalese variety, also showed a Tk 5.0 hike in a week. It was sold at Tk 105-110 a kg on the day.