TDS Desk:

The prices of eggs dropped by Tk25-30 per dozen, with twelve eggs selling at Tk150 in different markets of the country on Friday (18 October).

In local kitchen markets, eggs are being sold at Tk155-160 per dozen, which was Tk180 last week.

“I bought a dozen farm eggs for Tk150. I bought them at the beginning of last week for Tk180,” said a buyer.

“It is not enough for the government to just set prices. There must be strict monitoring to ensure that the sales are actually happening at the government-set prices,” he added.

Saiful Islam, an egg trader said, “The supply of eggs in the market has increased, which has led to a decrease in prices.”

To make eggs affordable, the government has permitted the import of eggs with a reduced import duty. The existing 25% import duty has been cut to 5%.

This duty relief will be available until 15 December, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said in an order issued on October 17.

Meanwhile, to increase supply and control prices, corporate entities have announced that they will supply two million eggs daily to Dhaka’s two main wholesale markets — Tejgaon and Kaptan Bazar.

Corporate entities started supplying eggs in Kaptan Bazar on October 17. The main coordinator of this initiative is the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council.

The organisation said that although this activity will initially start in Dhaka, it will impact the entire country.

According to Bangladesh Poultry Association estimates, the daily demand for eggs is around four crore pieces, while the production is around 4.5 crore pieces.

Still, the price of eggs was on an upward trend over the past few weeks due to increased production costs.