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Farmers desperate for poultry feed subsidy
Participants within the Bangladesh poultry industry
are seeking help from the government to subsidise imported feed ingredients in
the face of soaring poultry feed prices.
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.â€
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,â€
adding that people are now refraining from purchasing poultry meat.
Editor WorldPoultry
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