Bangladesh's The Daily Star reports that the growers in several parts of Savar have been spending around Tk 4.5 for production of each egg since March, which was higher from its wholesale price of Tk 3.3 to Tk 3.7 a piece.

Retailers purchase each egg at Tk 5 and sell those to the consumers at Tk 7-8 each. Only the growers are bearing the brunt of the falling prices, as egg prices fell only at the growers' level and its retail prices have remained the same in the last one year, industry insiders said.

Businesses blamed the falling egg prices at the growers' level on its oversupply in the market.

A profit of Tk 1 on each egg is huge for a small businessman, and this has prompted many new entrepreneurs to enter the market in 2016, said Mahmudul Hasan, member secretary of Savar Egg Traders Association.

Every day, the country needs around 2 crore pieces of eggs, while the growers now produce nearly 3 crore pieces, Mr Hasan said.

Many big companies now prefer producing eggs instead of chickens, he said.

“Many individual poultry farmers have also started producing eggs only, which has caused its abundance in the market.”

Humayun Kabir, a poultry farmer of Daulatpur in Manikganj, said 3,000 chickens of his farm produce around 2,950 eggs every day on an average.

“The falling egg prices have hit me hard. The daily production cost of my farm is Tk 14,000, but I could hardly earn Tk 11,000 a day by selling my produce.”

“I will be in real trouble if the egg prices do not recover soon, as I have to repay a big loan that I took from a bank and my relatives to set up the business,” Mr Kabir said. Shahidul Islam, another poultry farmer of Kalampur in Dhamrai, said he has never seen such low prices of eggs in his 16-year-long farming career.

“I have 10,000 chickens in my farm. I sell eggs of Tk 35,000 every day, which is much lower from my daily spending of Tk 45,000.”

“If the situation continues, the industry will be destroyed in a year.” However, the retail prices of the food item full of protein have remained the same at Tk 7-8 per piece since 2016, said Murshiduzzman, a consumer who buys 12 to 16 eggs every week.