Eggs get costlier: Commoners struggle with food budget, menu as prices of all protein items soar

Eggs, the cheapest source of protein for common people, have become dearer with their prices soaring over the last few weeks.

Broiler chickens have also become costlier. In just one month, prices of eggs and broiler chickens rose by 20 to 25 percent.

Poultry sector leaders put the hike down to the closure of 1 lakh out of the country’s 1.5 lakh poultry farms in the last five years for “government failure to tackle bird flu effectively”.

Beef too has got pricier. It now sells for Tk 260-280 a kg, marking a rise of 6 percent in last one year. Prices of pulses, another source of protein, have gone up by 38 percent during the same period, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

News is not good in the fish market as well. Fish prices rose by 30-50 percent in last one month for a serious shortfall in supply over a prolonged dry season.

This all has badly affected the food budget of the middle-class and lower-middle-class families, and left those on low incomes vulnerable to malnutrition.

Afroza Begum, 40, a domestic help, said her four-member family earns Tk 5,000 a month and they have fish once a week and eggs thrice a month.

“How can we eat fish, meat or even eggs more often with such a low income?” asked Afroza who lives in a Tejgaon slum in the capital.

Anisur Rahman, an NGO employee who runs a family of four, said his monthly income of Tk 25,000 is not enough to cope with the rising prices of foods, especially eggs, fish and meat.

“We used to have fish thrice and meat twice a week. Now, we have no option but to cut down on them.

“I slash other expenses to cover the food budget, yet I fail to meet my family’s minimum protein demand,” said Rahman, who lives in Demra.

In the capital, eggs now sell for Tk 110-120 a dozen, up from Tk 80-85 in May. Prices of broiler chickens stand at Tk 175-190 a kg, which were Tk 145-150 a few weeks back.

Shol fish sold for Tk 400-450 a kg yesterday at kitchen markets at Karwan Bazar and Indira Road. The price was Tk 250-350 a month ago.

Prices of bele fish also rose to Tk 450-500 a kg from Tk 150-200 a month back.

“Prices of almost all types of fish have gone up by Tk 100 to Tk 200 a kg,” said Jahangir, manager of a restaurant at Karwan Bazar.

Mosaddek Hossain, director of the Department of Livestock Services, said, “Fish supply usually falls short of the demand at this time, as natural water bodies go dry.”

The daily egg supply now stands at 1.5-1.6 crore pieces a day against a demand for 1.8 crore, he said.

“There is a shortage of one-day-old chicks. The government allowed import of hatching eggs, but not from India, which was hit hard by bird flu. We hope production of both eggs and chickens will go up in a month and bring down the prices,” said Mosaddek.

Khandker Mohammad Mohsin, general secretary of Bangladesh Poultry Farms Protection National Council, said the government had not given much attention to the poultry farmers’ appeal for support during the bird flu outbreak.

“Farmers had to close more than 50,000 poultry farms following the outbreak. Many of them still lack confidence,” he told The Daily Star.

Prof Khursheed Jahan of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science at Dhaka University said a large number of people in Bangladesh suffer from malnutrition. Now, the poor have to cut protein intake because of rising prices of eggs and meat.

“Children and pregnant or lactating mothers will be the worst victims of price hike of protein sources. They need additional protein, mineral and other micro-nutrients for a balanced growth.”

A child needs an egg a day and so does a pregnant or lactating mother; but many may not afford it now, she said.

This will result in malnutrition of both mothers and children, and adversely affect the children’s growth, said Prof Jahan.
Sourch: Daily star: 23.06.12