Business Report :
The government on Monday gave go-ahead to 12 firms to import another set of four crore eggs to bring down the prices of the source of protein by increasing its supply, according to a commerce ministry official.
With the latest approval, the government gave clearance to businesses to import a total of 8.5 crore pieces of eggs to contain the prices of the item, which eased in the last several days amid increased supply and government monitoring.
Earlier, the commerce ministry permitted import of 4.5 crore of eggs and those are expected to be brought into the country by next Saturday.
The entry of the earlier 4.5 crore eggs got delayed as trade between Bangladesh and India through Benapole has been kept halted for four days up to Thursday as part of security measures for Indian Home Minister Amit shah’s scheduled programme to be held at Petrapole port on October 24, said an official of commerce ministry.
Earlier, This is partly due to production disruptions from severe floods that caused a reduction in daily egg output by 50 lakh eggs.
The cost of poultry feed, which is significantly higher in Bangladesh than in India, has also contributed to the price hike.
Earlier, Bangladesh has imported eggs from India again. A shipment of 230,000 eggs from Kolkata arrived in Bangladesh, and according to customs authorities, the total cost after duties would be USD 0.05/egg.
The importer, Hydro Land Solutions from Dhaka, says retail prices would be close to USD 0.10/egg. The government stressed that the imports could control rising egg prices.
Moshiur Rahman, Managing Director, Paragon, told Asian Agribiz that egg production had dropped by 7-8% due to floods in layer production areas, raising prices to around USD 0.108/egg. He doubts the eggs will be sold at the price stated, as Indian egg prices were quite high at that time (USD 0.07/egg).