(India) Small poultry farmers warned Wednesday that they would stop buying layer and broiler chicks from July 01 if the hatchery owners charge prices more than the government fixed rates.
A decision on the matter was taken at a meeting on Tuesday.
"The government has fixed broiler and layer chicks prices at Tk 30 and Tk 32, but the hatchery owners are selling the chicks at Tk 65 to Tk 70," Khandaker Mohammad Mohsin, general secretary of National Council to Protect Poultry Farms of Bangladesh (NCPPFB) said.
The government fixed the prices of chicks on March 31, when it was also decided that every carton of chicks should have price tag, effective from June 15, for three months.
"But the hatchery owners still charge high prices of chicks flouting the governments decision. This will ultimately destroy the industry," Mr. Mohsin told the FE Wednesday.
"We have decided to stop buying chicks at prices higher than the government fixed rates," Mr Mohsin who deals with mainly layer chicks business said.
Syed Abu Siddique, president of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) said lack of pragmatic policy support has been threatening the existence of the poultry industry.
Though the poultry sector makes significant contribution to the national economy it is now on the verge of collapse as unscrupulous businessmen are making huge money by taking advantages of absence of effective trade regulations and market monitoring, he said.
"The government should break this unholy business circle," the BPIA president said.
