Egg supplies take a hit

The Tejgaon Egg Merchants’ Association, which delivers about 15 percent of the daily supply of 1 crore eggs in the capital, stopped sales from Sunday night claiming it was to avoid harassment by the government authorities.
A large number of egg wholesalers in Chattogram city’s Pahartali bazar also halted sales yesterday afternoon, citing the same reason.
Wholesalers in both cities said they are frequently fined by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) for selling eggs at prices higher than those fixed by the government.
Mohammad Amanat Ullah, former president of the Tejgaon Egg Merchants’ Association, said they could not sell eggs at the government’s fixed prices because their costs werehigher. “The government should increase the prices.”
Denying the presence of any market syndicate, he told The Daily Star that while Dhaka city has a daily demand for 1 crore eggs, they only supply 14 to 15 lakh.
He said they wouldhold a meeting with the DNCRP today to address the problem.
To check the rising prices of eggs, one of the cheapest sources of protein, the Department of Agricultural Marketing announced on September 15 that retailers would sell brown eggs at Tk 142 a dozen (Tk 11.83 per egg).
However, eggs were sold for Tk 15.83 each in the capital’s Tejturi Bazar area yesterday, up from Tk 14.75 logged on the day by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
According to data from theBangladesh Bureau of Statistics, food inflation has exceeded 10 percent for six straight months since April this year.
Overall inflation has remained above 9 percent since March 2023 even though the Bangladesh Bank has been raising the repo rate since May that year to curb demand and control inflation.
The repo rate is the interest rate at which the central bank of a country lends money to commercial banks.
Rajib Islam, manager of a restaurantin the city’s Segun Bagicha, said he visits Tejgaon every day to buy 300 eggs.
He said that all wholesale egg shops in Tejgaon were closed yesterday evening.
“I had to buy 100 eggs from a retail shop in the same area at a much higher price (how much?) than usual.”
Visiting the Tejgaon wholesale egg market yesterday evening, The Daily Star found that a dozen customers were leaving because shops were closed.
Wishing anonymity, an employee of Alamgir Traders, an egg wholesaler in Tejgaon, said they did not purchase eggs over the last two days.
He said they source eggs mainly from Sakhipur of Tangail and Bhaluka of Mymensingh.
“We used to sell 60,000 eggs every day. However, we have not been able to supply eggs to our regular buyers over the last two days. This may strain our business relationship with them.”
However, a source in the Tejgaon Egg Merchants’ Association said that some wholesalers were collecting eggs for their regular customers and sending those directly to them to maintain business ties.
A wholesaler, who wished to remain anonymous, said he bought eggs atTk 1,400  per 100 pieces yesterday without any money receipt, up from the regular price of Tk 1,240.
He said that he sold brown eggs for Tk 160 a dozen two days ago, but the price had risen to Tk 190 yesterday.
In Chattogram city, wholesalers at Pahartali Bazar halted egg sales yesterday afternoon. However, eggs were still available in other areas of the port city.
Abdul Shukkar Liton, general secretary of Pahartali Egg Wholesale Cooperative Society, said that they bought brown eggs for Tk 13.20 each and sold them for Tk 13.50 yesterday.
“I will only sell eggs if I can buy them at the government-set prices.”
Retailer Mohammad Iqbal from the city’s Kazir Dewri Bazar area said that he bought eggs for Tk 13.50 each and sold them for Tk 14.
‘GOVT CONCERNED ABOUT SYNDICATE’
Commerce Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed yesterday said the government is dissatisfied with the higher prices of essentials.
He said that the government is concerned about the syndicate in egg business as a group of companies are manipulating the prices.
“We are not much satisfied with the current prices of essentials,” he told reporters while visiting the Karwan Bazar kitchen market.
It is very difficult to enforce the prices fixed by the government, he said.
The adviser said the government cannot avoid the responsibility of high prices of essentials by blaming the trader syndicates.
“The government is worried about the syndicates. A few companies such as Kazi and Paragon have been making hefty profits by selling eggs at higher prices.
“Eggs cannot be produced in factories like chocolates,” the former central bank governor said.
He also acknowledged a current shortage in egg production, stating that the country previously produced 4.5 to 5 crore eggs daily to meet the demand of 4-4.5 crore, but the production has now dropped to 3 to 3.5 crore due to floods in different egg-producing areas.
Masud Karim, director general of the DAM, said that egg prices were fixed after discussions with different stakeholders last month.
Some wholesalers have ceased buying and selling eggs, which is unfortunate, he said.
He urged the traders to resume their normal activities.
Atia Sultana, deputy director of the DNCRP, said that they were monitoring the wholesalers who have closed their businesses.
“That is why we have called a meeting today with traders to stabilise the egg prices and ensure a normal supply,” she said.