The retail price of egg, the widely-consumed protein item, has shot up by 30 per cent within a month in the markets across the capital, according to vendors.
The egg price has now reached Tk 100 a dozen, which was Tk 70 even after the Eid-ul Fitr.
The price hike has affected the limited-income group of people's living, especially that of bachelors and students.
The sector insiders told the FE that there is no genuine reason behind the abrupt rise in the prices of the essential commodity.
They said the prices of all required poultry feeds, medicines and chicks have been stable over the last one month.
They, however, hinted that some large producers may be involved in manipulation of the egg prices.
When contacted, Md Moshiur Rahman, managing director of Paragon - a large poultry group, termed the current egg prices "normal."
"Actually when consumers bought eggs at Tk 70 a dozen earlier, the price was much lower than the expected level."
He also said many poultry farmers incurred huge financial loss that time.
"I think the new price is very much normal despite the fact that there is no price hike of feeds and other items required for egg production," he noted.
Egg production price is now Tk 6.40 per piece, according to the Bangladesh Poultry Farm Protection National Sangram Parishad.
On the other hand, consumer rights groups in the city told the FE that the sudden egg price rise is nothing but a syndicated move to cash in on its high demand among people.
"This is definitely an abnormal price hike. I don't understand how egg price rises 30 per cent in less than a month," said Ghulam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAAB).
Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, chairperson of the Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC), told the FE that the agency lacks adequate manpower to investigate price hike of the essential commodities as well as to take necessary actions to lower the prices.
"How will we take action when we lack manpower to combat such unusual price hike?"
He told the FE that it is a lengthy process to probe the price hike of essential commodities.
Shafiqul Islam Laskar, director general of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP), told the FE that the prices of various essentials usually rise to some extent during the rainy season.
"But, my view is it is too high this time."
When asked whether DNCRP will take any action to rein in the high prices, he said the poultry feed prices are also somewhat high.
But people in the local egg-producing industry told the FE that the prices of all materials required to produce egg have been stable in the country.
Bangladesh is self-sufficient in egg, and production of each egg costs Tk 6.0, they added.
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