A number of traders want to import 160 million pieces of egg from India, sources said, although price of the item has witnessed a slight fall on the domestic market.
Some trading houses - namely Cheese Gallery, MS Darbar Matsho Arot and Agrola Trade & Distribution- have recently sent separate letters to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) seeking permission to import eggs under the existing import policy.
The MoC has already forwarded the letters to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL), requesting it to make necessary recommendations in this regard.
The enterprises said they want to import eggs to meet its current supply deficit and help stabilise its price in the local market.
They expect that consumers can buy per piece of egg at Tk 6.5 or maximum Tk 7.0 from the retail market.
In the middle of August 2022, the price of farm eggs (brown) hit a record high of Tk160-180 a dozen in the market.
After that, the egg price declined slightly due to the government's different moves.
But the price is still high - as per piece of egg is now selling at Tk12-12.5 at the retail level.
Currently, per piece of egg is being sold at Tk9.0-10 in the retail level.
When contacted, managing director of Cheese Gallery Jakir Hossain said, "Currently, per piece of egg is being sold at Rs 4.0-4.50 in different Indian markets.
"We have requested the government for duty exemption in egg import. Per piece of egg can be sold at Tk7.0 in the country's retail market after all expenses if eggs can be imported free of duty," he added.
In early November this year, some traders sought the government's approval to import 510 million pieces of egg from neighbouring India; but it has not taken any decision yet in this regard.
In a recent hearing, local poultry farmers expressed deep concern over the import proposal.
It would be suicidal for the local poultry industry, as its growth would be badly affected, if the government allows egg import, they warned.
They also said the egg market is now stable. Local producers are sufficiently able to meet the domestic demand, they added.
Some government high-ups want to allow egg import while some are against the import to protect the local poultry sector, officials said.
The government should take necessary steps to import feeds for the local poultry sector, as around 80 per cent of its cost is spent for procuring feeds, insiders said.
Poultry sector insiders attributed the surge in poultry meat and egg prices to rise in prices of poultry feed and day-old-chick (DOC) along with closure of many farms.
The country's annual egg output surged to 23.35 billion pieces in the last fiscal year (FY) 2021-22 against the set annual target of 22.66 billion pieces, according to the Department of Livestock.
But the country is likely to fail in achieving the set target to produce 23.15 billion eggs in the current FY.
Only 5.97 billion eggs were produced till September - due to shutdown of a number of poultry farms.
In line with Bangladesh's target of becoming a developed country by 2041, a healthy nation is also desirable, which can be achieved, among others, through per capita annual intake of 208 pieces of egg.
Currently, the country's annual per capita egg consumption is 136 pieces, a data showed.
An average person needs to eat minimum 104 eggs annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Around 40 million pieces of eggs are daily produced in the country. Of these, about 9-12 per cent is produced by big poultry farms and the rest by small entrepreneurs in rural areas.
