December 26, 2025

 

Massive business shutdowns hit Bangladesh's small-scale poultry farming sector

 

 

A deepening crisis in Bangladesh's poultry industry is forcing thousands of small-scale farmers to shut down their operations due to soaring production costs, market manipulation by middlemen, and a collapse in farm-gate prices, industry insiders said on December 20.

 

Farmers are losing nearly ৳13 billion (US$106 million) per month in egg and broiler chicken production, according to both small and big farmers.

 

Market intervention by middlemen, who pocket at least ৳3.30 billion (US $27 million) in profit each month from eggs and some ৳40 (US$0.33) per kg from broiler chicken, has also affected end consumers, they said.

 

The country's poultry industry, a backbone of rural employment and protein security, has turned hostile for the marginal producer in late 2025 as hundreds of small and medium-sized farms have closed in the last few months, said the Bangladesh Poultry Industry Central Council (BPICC), a forum of the poultry industry entrepreneurs.

 

Farmers reported that the cost of producing a single egg now stands at approximately ৳10.50–11 (US$0.086–0.090), but they are often forced to sell to wholesalers for as little as ৳7.50–8.0 (US$0.061–0.065), claimed the BPICC.

 

Similarly, broiler chicken production costs have hit ৳160–170 (US$1.31–1.39) per kg, while farm-gate selling prices have plummeted to ৳122–125 (US$1.00–1.02) per kg, it said.

 

Aminul Haque, a farmer in Rajshahi, said: "We are losing money on every bird we raise. Feed prices are at an all-time high, but when we go to sell, the buyers offer us prices that don't even cover the cost of the chicks. So I have shut down the farm."

 

Despite heavy losses sustained by producers, consumers in urban centers like the capital city see little relief. While farmers lose roughly ৳2.0–2.30 (US$0.016–0.019) per egg, the retail price in city markets remains high, often exceeding ৳11–12 (US $0.090–0.098) per piece. This widening gap is attributed to a powerful network of middlemen and corporate syndicates that controls the supply chain. These intermediaries buy eggs and poultry at rock-bottom prices from desperate farmers and sell them at inflated rates to retailers, poultry industry leaders said.

 

Mashiur Rahman, president of the BPICC, told The Financial Express that they have been struggling over the past few months with falling prices at the farm level compared to the production costs. If the trend continues, thousands of poultry farms will shut down within a year resulting in massive unemployment across Bangladesh, he said.

 

"Although the government has fixed the farm-gate, wholesale, and retail prices for eggs and meat, we are forced to sell live products at heavy losses per unit. So, it is very difficult to stay in business, even with the support of the government," Rahman added.

 

Earlier in March 2024, the Department of Agricultural Marketing fixed prices for 29 food products, including chicken meat and eggs, at the producer, wholesale, and retail levels. The production cost of broiler chicken was fixed at ৳145.78 (US$1.19) per kg. It had to be sold for ৳151.81 (US$1.24) at the producer level, ৳162.69 (US $1.33) at the wholesale level and ৳175.30 (US$1.43) at the retail level.

 

On the other hand, the production cost of eggs was fixed at ৳10.19 (US$0.083) per unit while the prices at the farm-gate were ৳10.58 (US$0.087), at wholesale level ৳11.01 (US$0.090) and ৳11.87 (US$0.097) at retail level. They said that despite a global decline in raw material costs like corn and soybean, local feed prices remain artificially high.

 

BPICC leaders said although farmers are losing ৳20–26 (US$0.16–0.21) per dozen eggs, middlemen are making ৳20–24 (US$0.16–0.20) in profit by manipulating the market. Similarly, farmers are losing ৳45–47 (US$0.37–0.38) per kg of broiler meat, but middlemen are earning nearly ৳40 (US$0.33) per kg, a situation that ultimately affects end-consumers, they said.

 

Some farm owners said a surge in production earlier in the year, coupled with seasonal shifts towards winter vegetables and fish, has led to a glut that middlemen have exploited to drive farm-gate prices down further.

 

Consumers may be happy with slightly lower prices today, but the destruction of small-scale farming infrastructure is a disaster for food security, said another BPICC leader. Once the small farms are gone, the market will turn into a monopoly. Prices will then skyrocket, and the poor will no longer be able to afford their primary source of protein, he added.

 

Poultry industry leaders are now demanding urgent government action to save the industry, including setting minimum and maximum floor prices for eggs and meat, reducing raw material prices, providing emergency refinancing for farmers, and offering subsidies during the off-season. They also called for the establishment of cold storage facilities for meat and eggs, exploring export markets, and stricter market monitoring to check manipulation by the middlemen.

 

- The Financial Express