The consumption of eggs has increased in the country despite the skyrocketing price of the protein food item.Experts said the soaring prices of fish and meat have forced consumers to take eggs which prices are comparatively lower than those.

The per-capita consumption rate of eggs is believed to be more this year than the last years’, they added.
The prices of farm eggs have increased by 31.94 percent in a year, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

The Department of Livestock Services (DLS) said that the per-capita consumption of eggs was 121.18 in 2021 and 104.23 in 2020.

Bangladesh has crossed the minimum consumption rate set by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

Every human needs to consume at least 104 eggs in a year to stay healthy, the FAO said.

The soaring price of other protein intake and changing diets to the lower costs protein meal has boosted the consumption of eggs in the country.

Many countries are growing and changing their diets with the recognition that eggs are a good source of protein, leading to the consumption of eggs.  In Bangladesh, the purchasing capacity of consumers has decreased and food prices increased which also forces them to consume eggs as their daily diet.
Many people take their meals with egg as its price is comparably lower than that of fish and meat.

Golam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, told the Daily Sun that the prices of other protein sources have also increased manyfold in the country for these consumers, especially the poor who are consuming eggs in their daily meals as a substitute.

“Egg price has increased n the country as a growing demand is responsible for this,” he said.

“The government should bring the egg price to a tolerable level so that people can consume it,” he added.

The price of farm eggs skyrocketed to Tk 160 per dozen in August but it declined to Tk 120 per dozen in the first week of September.

The egg price increased further to Tk 150-155 per dozen in the capital on Thursday.

The country produced 2335.35 crore eggs in FY 2021-22 and 2057.64 crore in FY 2020-21. Its production was only 1,552 crore in FY 2017-18.

Eggs are not only fulfilling food and nutritional needs but also increasing employment opportunities for millions of people, said Mashiur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC).

“If you review from the economic point of view, the statistics of the egg-centred trade are quite eye-catching,” he said.

Out of the total production, around 88 to 90 per cent of egg comes from marginal farmers while the rest of 10 to 12 per cent comes from commercial farms, according to the BPICC.