Fakirhat poultry farms suffer setback for soaring feed cost

FAKIRHAT, BAGERHAT, Aug 2: Fakirhat Upazila produces around 6 crore eggs a year and supplies about 4 crore 38 lakh surplus eggs to Dhaka and other districts after meeting local demand. However, poultry farmers say soaring production costs are threatening one of the country's major egg-producing hubs.

According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Fakirhat produced 4 crore 50 lakh 62 thousand eggs in FY 2025-26. The upazila has 211 registered commercial layer farms and 25 duck farms, with about 7 lakh 45 thousand layer chickens and 1 lakh 48 thousand ducks.

Farmers estimate the combined registered and unregistered poultry population at around 14 lakh.

The DLS estimates annual local demand at 1 crore 62 lakh 18 thousand eggs, leaving a surplus of 4 crore 37 lakh 82 thousand eggs, which are supplied to markets in Dhaka, Khulna, Jashore, Satkhira and other districts.

Farmers said annual egg production has declined by around 1 crore to 1.5 crore eggs compared with 2019-20 as many small and medium-scale farms have reduced production or shut down due to rising feed, medicine and operating costs.

Naosher Ali, one of the upazila's largest layer farmers, said small farms are struggling to compete with large companies that produce their own feed and use climate-controlled poultry sheds.

Farmer Md Hafizur Rahman said he had reduced his flock from 60,000 layer birds in 2019 to 11,000. The price of a 50kg bag of layer feed has risen from Tk 1,675 to Tk 2,960, while the cost of producing an egg has increased from Tk 3.5 to around Tk 8.7.

"Wholesale prices are around Tk 9 per egg and sometimes fall to Tk 7, making it difficult to earn a profit," he said.

Commercial poultry farming in Fakirhat began expanding in the 1990s and now provides direct and indirect employment to around 20,000 people.

Farmers have called for low-interest loans, regulation of poultry feed and medicine prices, and a fairer market to help small producers survive.

Upazila Livestock Officer Dr Md Hasan Ali said production costs had nearly doubled while egg prices had remained almost unchanged. He added that the Livestock Department continues to provide vaccination, training and technical support to farmers.