Farmers desperate for poultry feed subsidy

According to Moshiur Rahman, convener of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Co-Ordination Committee, “A majority of entrepreneurs will be forced to shut down their businesses unless the government provides subsidy for poultry feed ingredients.”

The increased use of biofuel in the place of fossil fuels has led to a surge in the price of poultry feed ingredients, particularly maize and soybean.

Moshiur says that almost 50% of oultry farms faced closure in the past six months due to increasing cost of production, resulting from steady rise in feed ingredients and poor demand for poultry meat. An outbreak of bird flu early 2007 has also added to the pressure that farmers are facing.

The country is now producing 4 mln day-old chicks a week instead of 6.5 mln a year ago, says Moshiur, who is also the President of World’s Poultry Science Association in Bangladesh. He also blames less purchasing capacity of the people for the fall in demand for poultry.

Ideally demand for poultry should have been increased due to the closure of such a large number of farms, he said, “But it didn’t because people’s purchasing capacity has eroded faster than that of the extent of the closure,” adding that people are now refraining from purchasing poultry meat.

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