Imported eggs may arrive in a week, to ease price hikes

Amidst soaring egg prices, consumers in Bangladesh are set to experience some relief as imported eggs are expected to arrive next week. Importers have confirmed that poultry eggs will be available for purchase at Tk9-10 each at the retail level. 

On 17 September this year, the Ministry of Commerce authorised four business entities to import a total of four crore eggs, aiming to stabilise the volatile egg market. 

The four authorised importers include Mim Enterprise, Tiger Enterprise, Prime Energy, and Arnob Trading, each granted permission to import one crore eggs.

This decision to permit egg imports came in response to traders who had ignored the government's call to adhere to fixed pricing. Despite the government setting the retail price for each egg at Tk12, eggs continue to be sold in Dhaka at Tk12.50 or even higher.

Importing agencies have indicated that their primary source for egg imports will be India due to its proximity, allowing for faster shipments. They anticipate that imported eggs will become available in the country by the upcoming week.

Saifur Rahman, the proprietor of Tiger Trading Ltd, explained, "Upon importing eggs from India, we anticipate selling each egg in the local market at approximately Tk9-10. Our calculations suggest that the cost of importing each egg will range from Tk5.9 to Tk7.2."

According to the commerce ministry, the country's daily demand for eggs stands at four crore, with local production exceeding this demand. However, due to elevated local market prices despite ample domestic production, the commerce ministry granted import permissions to regulate the market.