Very few poultry farmers still in business
Out of over 23,000 poultry farms shut down during the bird flu outbreak in Bangladesh in 2007, only 4,210 have managed to resume production in the past few months.
Approx. 5 mln people lost their jobs in the country due to the closure of poultry farms, said the Poultry Industries Coordination Committee.
Due to high interest rates at the banks in the region, many poultry farmers have been unable to take loans from commercial banks. This, added to the increasing cost of feed, has made it impossible for many to sustain a business.
“The normal interest rate in commercial banks is between 12 and 18%. If we take loans at this rate we shall not be able to make any profit under the existing circumstances,†said owner of Aqua Land Agro Complex, Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan.
After incurring losses in the poultry business, many poultry farm owners have rented out their farms and unit space to the factories, pesticide companies and training institutes as they receive a better income than running a poultry facility.
Only 8 out of 97 poultry farms stretching an area from Bishmail to Jirabo are currently in operation.
To add to the situation, it is also reported that many poultry farm owners are yet to get compensation for culling birds at their farms during the bird flu outbreak.
