Mohammad Hafiz expanded his egg farm in Rajshahi’s Paba with a dream of building a stable business. In 2019, he started with 1,000 to 1,200 chickens on his family land. Seven years later, his farm has grown to four sheds with more than 4,000 chickens.
“Production has increased, but my profit has not,” Hafiz said, as rising feed, medicine and operating costs continued to eat into his earnings. At times, he has even suffered losses.
Hafiz’s struggle reflects a wider crisis in Bangladesh’s egg market, where farmers are battling rising production costs while consumers are paying record prices.
A dozen eggs now costs around Tk160, putting pressure on household budgets. With fuel prices rising, consumers fear further increases.
The impact is already visible in food businesses. A fried egg, once considered an affordable source of protein, now costs Tk30 at roadside hotels and restaurants.
Osman Mia, an employee of Hotel Salauddin in Karwan Bazar, told TIMES, “People from all classes and professions used to have fried eggs with their breakfast. Now many people take only vegetables and paratha for breakfast. Earlier, after opening the shop in the morning, we would sell 50 fried eggs. Now it has come down to around 20.”
When Hafiz started his farm, a dozen eggs sold for less than Tk100 at retail markets. Yet, he says farmers were not necessarily better off then, as rising input costs have steadily reduced their margins.
“The cost of everything has gone up,” he said, pointing to feed, medicines, electricity and labour as major challenges. In 2019, his egg production costs stood at Tk5 lakh to Tk6 lakh. Now, the figure has crossed Tk10 lakh.
After purchasing chicks from incubators, farmers must provide five to six mandatory vaccines before hens begin laying eggs.
For a batch of 1,000 chickens, the initial vaccination cost alone is significant. On the first day, farmers spend Tk6,000 to Tk7,000 on vaccines. By the third day, the cost reaches Tk12,000.
At 15 days, another dose costs Tk12,000 to Tk15,000, followed by another at 45 days.
Electricity and labour costs have added further pressure. For 1,000 chickens, the average electricity bill used to be around Tk550 per day, but it has increased in recent months.
Another Rajshahi farmer, Abu Yusuf, who has 1,000 chickens, says feed costs have become increasingly difficult to manage. He needs around two-and-a-half sacks of feed every day. “The price of a 50kg sack has increased by Tk150 within two weeks. A company feed costs Tk3,000 per sack, while local feed costs Tk2,500,” he said.
Mohammad Ahsanuzzaman, senior vice-president of the Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB), said raw material prices had increased sharply.
According to him, corn prices have risen from around Tk30 per kg two months ago to Tk36-37 and could reach Tk40 for November shipments.
Rice bran prices have increased from Tk28-29 to Tk36-37 per kg, while de-oiled rice bran (DORB) has risen from Tk20-24 to Tk33-34.
Soybean meal, which was Tk54-55 per kg two months ago, has climbed to Tk65 and could reach Tk70 under new letters of credit, he said.
The cost of producing feed has also increased, with the price of a 50kg bag rising from Tk26 to Tk40. Transport costs have also gone up.
Rising bank loan interest rates
Ahsanuzzaman said many small feed mills were reducing production or shutting down because they could no longer afford raw materials.
Bangladesh’s egg industry has expanded significantly. Market insiders estimate the egg market, worth around Tk12,500 crore in 2020, doubled by 2025.
According to the Department of Livestock Services, corporate farms supply around 20 per cent of total eggs, while small farmers contribute the remaining 80 per cent.
Egg production increased from 1,017 crore in fiscal year 2014-15 to 2,440 crore in fiscal year 2024-25.
Per capita annual egg availability has also increased from 35 a decade ago to 137.
But the growth of the market has not translated into security for small farmers. “The gap between increased production and purchasing power reflects the inefficiency of the market,” agricultural economist and researcher Jahangir Alam Khan told TIMES.
“Farmers are struggling with the costs of animal feed, fuel and transportation, while consumers are paying high prices due to market instability. Amid all this, large corporations are making huge profits,” he said.
Chattogram farmer Usmani Islam said 20-30 per cent of farms closed last year alone because of chick shortages and rising production costs. Around 30 per cent of chicks died due to poor quality, he said.
“Production growth cannot be called sustainable development unless the security of small farmers is ensured,” Usmani said.
Farmers caught in a pricing chain
Egg production follows a natural cycle. A farm usually keeps hens for two years, with the peak production period between six months and one year, when output can reach 95 per cent.
Farmers can manage production cycles and costs, but their biggest challenge is the market structure.
“We are in a kind of captivity. I have to sell eggs to only one person. There is a fixed dealer, and I have to give them the eggs. I have to accept whatever price he offers. Otherwise, the eggs will rot at the farm,” Hafiz said.
Md Tanmoy, a farmer from Dashani in Jamalpur, said Dhaka’s Tejgaon wholesale market showed a price of Tk10.80 per egg through mobile messages, but buyers at the field level refused to pay even Tk10.30.
Two associations largely influence the local market — dealer associations and poultry feed companies.
Dealers play a key role between producers and consumers, determining prices before eggs reach wholesale markets and retailers.
However, Mir Mahbubuddin Ahmed, secretary of the Bangladesh Egg Producers Association, disagreed that farmers are forced to sell only to specific dealers.
“The situation where eggs must be sold only to a specific dealer no longer exists. There is now more transparency and accountability in the market,” he said.
He said large farms producing 20,000 to 50,000 eggs daily could transport and market their products independently, but small farms producing 3,600 eggs or fewer still depend on others.
Bangladesh Egg Producers Association President Md Tahir Ahmed Siddiqui said around 30 per cent of farms closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some farms also shut down in 2024 due to chick shortages and rising medicine and feed costs. Last year, another 20-25 per cent of farms closed, he said.
Mahbubuddin blamed recent egg price increases on lower production during heatwaves and higher truck rental costs.
AHM Shafiquzzaman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said, “Poor people are suffering because of egg prices. But no effective government market monitoring is visible.”
