Coronavirus hits Bangladesh poultry industry hard

The coronavirus pandemic has badly affected the poultry business in Bangladesh, with poultry hatchery owners count huge losses.

When hatching a chicken costs Tk 32, now hatchery owners have to sell the same at Tk 1 as the poultry farmers about stopped buying chickens from them due to apparent lockdown.

Bangladesh government announced 10-day general holiday from March 26 to April 4 in an effort to make people maintain social distancing or keep them indoors aims to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Prices of the poultry meat has fallen significantly as fewer people go to kitchen markets for the virus that led the farm owners to stop purchaising chickens.

Selina Parveen, poultry farmer at Tongi in Gazipur, said she sold about 2500 egg laying chickens a few days ago with loss Tk 10 lakh because egg prices were decreasing gradually but feed prices rising.

"A hatchery owner proposed to sell 5000 chickens to me at Tk 1 per piece but I refused. Because, I have to count huge loss again if the dire situation by coronaviru does not improve soon," she added.

Sources said hatching a chicken costs Tk 32 but poultry farmers do not now buy chickens from hatchery. About 2 lakh chickens are dying everyday as these cannot be transferred to the poultry farms.