Bangladesh’s poultry industry, a vital source of affordable protein and rural employment, is in jeopardy. Over the last five years, syndicate-driven manipulation and unbridled corporate control have destroyed small and medium-sized poultry farms, leaving farmers in financial misery and threatening the sector’s sustainability. Urgent steps are needed to dismantle these exploitative practices and restore stability to this crucial industry.
The closure of 60 percent of small poultry farms in recent years paints a grim picture. Farmers are struggling under the weight of skyrocketing input costs, driven by syndicates controlling the prices of feed, chicks and vaccines. For instance, the price of poultry feed, which accounts for up to 80 percent of production costs, has surged to Tk 3,800 per sack from Tk 1,750 five years ago. Despite global decline in the prices of raw materials such as corn and soybean, feed prices in the country remain unreasonably high. This artificial inflation permits syndicates to pocket an estimated Tk 6,000 crore each year while farmers spiral deeper into debt.
The farmers’ plight is worsened by the grasping nature of corporate-controlled contract farming. Farmers are often forced into agreements that strip them of independence, binding them to particular traders for feed and supplies. These traders inflate prices and monopolise supply chains, leaving farmers with no alternative but to accept manipulative terms. Many farmers, not capable of breaking free from this cycle, are abandoning their farms. Over 1,000 farms have shut down across the country, with farmers selling land and homes to repay debts.
The management’s
failure to address these
issues has allowed syndicates
to thrive unbridled
Hatchery owners play a significant role in this manipulation. The production cost of a Sonali chick is Tk 14-20, yet farmers are charged Tk 28-48, an example of profit-driven manipulation. This three-tier syndicate—including hatcheries, feed traders and corporate entities—ensures that profits are concentrated at the top, while famers bear the burden of economic losses.
The management’s failure to address these issues has allowed syndicates to thrive unbridled. Monitoring oversight is woefully insufficient and policy measures to ensure fair pricing and competition are noticeably lacking. In contrast, neighbouring countries such as India have applied mechanisms to keep input costs low. Indian farmers pay Tk 40-50 per kilogram of feed, considerably less than the Tk 60-72 paid in Bangladesh. This difference underlines the need for Bangladesh to search alternative feed inputs and facilitate duty-free imports of necessary raw materials.
The Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA) has repeatedly called for reform to protect farmers and stabilise the market. These comprise reviewing contract farming practices, curbing exploitative activities and ensuring fair partnership between small farmers and large corporations. The industry risks becoming a corporate domination, undermining food security and rural livelihood.
The poultry sector’s contribution to the economy and public health cannot be overstated. Permitting a handful of businesses to dominate this industry would be a severe harm to many farmers and consumers.
The authorities concerned must act decisively to dismantle manipulative syndicates, empower small farmers and secure the future of Bangladesh’s
poultry industry.
The country risks losing a cornerstone of its agricultural economy and a critical source of affordable nutrition without urgent intervention.
