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The broiler chicken price surged to a year-high of Tk 250-260 a kg on Friday, putting strain on limited-income consumers just before the Eid festival.
The skyrocketing costs of day-old-chicks (DOCs) and poultry feed are the key reason behind the surge in the prices of the chicken, say industry insiders.
As Eid-ul-Fitr will take place next week, households are preparing for special feasts, regardless of economic status.
However, purchasing essential commodities has become increasingly challenging for those with limited means, as their prices have gone sky-high in anticipation of the religious festival.
This trend was evident on Friday morning during this correspondent's visits to several markets in the capital.
This week, broiler chicken prices have climbed by Tk 30, reaching Tk 250-260 a kg.
Similarly, the price of kok or sonali chicken has also risen, with a kilogram now costing Tk 360-Tk 380 a kg, marking Tk 40 a kg hike in a week, according to kitchen market sources.
Moin Ali, a chicken trader at Hatirpool, said the surge in the demand for chickens, coupled with a decrease in their supplies, during the Eid preparations caused their price hike.
The chicken price is increasing by Tk 5.0-10 every day in the wholesale market over the last one week, he says.
Hadisur Rahman Chan, a small-scale broiler chicken farm owner at Keraniganj in Dhaka, told the FE that they were forced to buy DOCs at Tk 80-82 per bird one a half months back.
He also said: "The feed prices shot up to Tk 75-80 a kg."
The production costs surpassed Tk 190 a kg for which was Tk 160 six months back, he added.
Mr Chan said such higher input costs forced many to close their operations in recent months.
Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA) President Md Sumon Hawlader said a nexus between some officials at the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) and big poultry firms made the condition critical further.
He also said the maximum production cost of a DOC was Tk 30, but DLS set its MRP at Tk 63 while farmers had to spend Tk 80-90 to source it.
"Feed production cost is Tk 55, but companies are selling those at Tk 75-80 a kg, making illogical profits while DLS remained deaf and dumb on it."
Meanwhile, the BPA issued a press release on Thursday, saying that big poultry farms in the country cashed in on additional Tk 8.0 billion by selling DOCs at Tk 80-90 per bird and feed at Tk above 72 a kg in between September 2023 and March 2024.