Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Despite the recent decline in corn prices to a three-year low during the peak harvesting season, the animal-feed market remains volatile and sells at a record high.
The feed industry syndicate is accused of artificially lowering the corn rates in the country's northern and south-western swathes to reap significant profits, according to market insiders.
Farmers and seasonal traders in the northern regions report that corn is now selling at Tk 16-23 a kg from farm level to mill gates, whereas it was Tk 28-34 a kg in the same period last year.
Bulu Sarker, a farmer in the country's northern district Nilphamari, said farmers forced to sell moist maize are only getting Tk 11-12 a kg, incurring losses, while farmers who can sell dry corn are only able to make a 5.0-6.0 per cent profit, which ultimately translates to a loss.
Many debt-ridden farmers, who need money urgently, are particularly experiencing such losses.
For instance, take the case of Rangpur's Montaj Ali who cultivated corn on his three bighas of land last year and managed to post profits at around 25-30 per cent.
The farmer said the production this time is almost the same, but the rates fell to 2020-level - which will eat into even the minimal profit gains.
He alleged that the feed mill syndicate has captured the market and fixed prices at their discretion, as most farmers do not have the capacity to store their crops for more than a month.
Imtiaz Kabir, a trader from Dinajpur, said he had made a contract with five corn farmers in Khansama upazila at Tk 20 a kg, following a good business last year.
However, agents from local poultry giant 'Kazi Farm' are offering only Tk 21, which would result in a loss for him if the situation is not improved.
Prof Dr Mohammad Jahangir Alam, who specialises in Agribusiness and Marketing at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), said that local corn farmers had made a tremendous contribution to the country by producing record corn crops over the last three years when global prices became volatile.
He noted that while corn prices had declined somewhat globally, it was still Tk 34-38 a kg if imported.
Thus, farmers should receive their desired prices when production costs increase by 25 per cent, as they have this year, due to a hike in urea fertilisers and other inputs, he said.
Corn constitutes more than 60 per cent of animal feed, so feed millers, who also own poultry farms, should reduce feed prices for the time being, said the professor.
Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, secretary of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said that the price of another feed ingredient, soya meal, had also declined in recent months.
As chickens, eggs, beef, milk, and cultured fish are currently selling at all-time high rates mainly due to higher feed costs, he urged the authorities to take immediate action to reduce feed prices.
He, however, said that feed prices are still 80-100 per cent higher now than they were a year and a half ago.
"The government should have a record of the rates at which companies are now collecting corn to set reasonable prices for feed," he added.
Dr Debangshu Bikash Bhowmik, managing director of Agata Feed Mills Ltd and a member of the Feed Industries Association of Bangladesh (FIAB), acknowledged that the prices of a few raw materials have declined.
He said if this trend continues, feed prices may ease in the coming weeks.
The annual demand for animal feed in Bangladesh is approximately 6.5 million tonnes, and local feed millers now produce almost 99 per cent of the total demand, according to FIAB. The agriculture ministry expects Bangladesh to produce 5.5 million tonnes of corn this year.