Syed Shemul Parvez :
The consumer goods market has already reached to a pinnacle. Due to this, the price of eggs is increasing by leaps and bounds. Why the price is rising. After investigation, it is known that a powerful syndicate is fixing the price of eggs in many places across the country.
They fix the price of eggs through syndicate meeting every day at 10 pm. In return, 15 per cent commission is taken from the poultry farm owners. They also sell eggs at the price which is set by the syndicate.
There is one such syndicate at Savar, the entrance to the capital city. Eggs are sold at the price fixed by this syndicate in several districts including Manikganj, Tangail and Gazipur.
There is an egg farm in Shahjalal market adjacent to Savar bus stand. The Egg Traders Association was established there in 1998. At present, the number of members of this association is about 20 to 25 people.
The members of this association decide the price of eggs by meeting at night. The daily market price of eggs is also determined by voting system by the syndicate members.
Meanwhile, association president Obaidul Khan claims that eggs are supplied to almost half of the country’s markets at the price determined by the Tejgaon Association of Dhaka.
So their position stands second.
Obaidul Khan told the media that we collect the market rates of different places in the country. The members of our association sit and have a meeting at 10 pm. Here we determine the price based on the votes of the members. This price is informed to the poultry owners at night so that eggs are sold at that price the next day.
When asked what matters are given importance in determining the price of eggs, he said, the most importance is given to the price of various things including chicken feed.
If the supply is less than the demand, the price of eggs increases. In response to the question that why the price of eggs suddenly increased so much, he said that food prices are high and the cost of running the farm has gone up, including the cost of electricity. As a result, many farms have been closed.
Due to the closure of farms, production has decreased. But demand has increased. This is why the price of eggs has increased. We determine the market rate considering all aspects, he said.
However, Obaidul Khan admitted to taking a commission of 10 to 15 per cent by fixing the price of eggs. He said, they give us this money as transportation cost. This is our profit.
Shawkat Ali, the owner of Srishti Poultry Farm in Ashulia’s Nalam area, said that four days ago I used to sell 100 eggs for Tk 850 to Tk 900. But suddenly the price of each bag of food has increased by 200 taka. Based on the demand, the association leaders fix the price of eggs and message us in the night. We sell eggs according to that message.
