Chicken meat cuts off from poor people’s menu

Staff Reporter :
The broiler chicken price reached all time high in the country’s history. People from low income group forced to cut off chicken meat from their menu.
Broiler chicken is main source of protein for common people of the country.
Even though, the beef price also reached all time high in the country as it is being sold at Tk 850 to Tk900 in different areas of the country.
A plastic company worker from Lalbagh area, Md Joynal Abedin yesterday went to new market to buy daily essentials. He felt helpless after knowing the soaring prices of different essentials.
With his Tk 1,000, he wanted to buy chicken, sugar, pulse, potato, onion, ginger and egg.
He found that different breeds of poultry chicken were sold at about Tk 80 a kg higher than the price was two weeks earlier.
Traders were asking Tk 260 for a kg of broiler chicken and Tk 320 for a kg of Sonali chicken, Joynal said.
“This frustrates me. How will people like me survive if prices of essentials are skyrocketing?” he added.
The plastic company worker further added that with his limited monthly income
of Tk 15,000, he is struggling to make ends meet for his three-member family.
He said although he could buy other essentials like potato, onion and ginger, he finally had to cut off chicken from the shopping list.
Joynal said he did not even dare to buy pangas fish that is popular among the low-income group because of its low price.
Price of pangas has increased by Tk 50 to Tk 60 a kg from the previous price of Tk 130 a kg, he added.
Prices of all kinds of fish have also gone up.
He bought a dozen eggs at Tk 145, paying Tk 35 additional compared to the price two weeks ago.
Chicken, egg and fish are some of the main sources of protein.
A number of consumers at the kitchen markets in Hatirpul and Kataban areas said the hike in price of essentials left them in deep trouble as they were struggling to purchase necessary items.
They said they were experiencing the soaring prices of daily essentials, especially different types of meat over the past one week.
Monoara Begum,(70), of Azimpur area said, she never saw in her entire life that broiler chicken was sold at Tk 260 a kg. “If this is the situation, then how low-income families like ours will survive.”
Nesar Uddin, a wholesale chicken trader in New Market, said he has been involved in the trade for over four decades in the capital. “This is the highest ever price of broiler chicken as far as I can recall.”
The broiler chicken has seen an increase in price at the farmer level over the past one week while there is also a shortage in market against the demand, he said
As a result, traders were selling it at an increased price, Nesar added.
Both experts and small farmers recently blamed the big shots of the poultry industry and intermediaries for the abnormal price hike.