18 January 2015: The poultry industry in Bangladesh once again in great trouble due to political crisis in the country and violent programmes like hartal-blockade etc. In the last 15-months the industry suffered losses of taka 4 thousand 5 hundred crores, said leaders of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC) in a Meet-the-Press, held today at the auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity.

Moshiur Rahman, convener of BPICC- an apex body of seven poultry related associations said, that the industry suffered losses of taka four thousand crores during the endless hartal-blockade in the year 2013. Unfortunately only after 14 months, the opposition political parties once again threw same type of programmes that was hampering normal life and caused losses of Tk.256 crore during 14-day hartal-blockade that started on 5 January 2015. "If we count all the local hartals, blockades and violent movements, the total losses would be around 4.5 thousand crores. If such programme continues not only the poultry industry but every industry will be collapsed and the national economy will be halted" said Mr. Rahman.

Fazle Rahim Khan Shahriar, president, Breeders' Association of Bangladesh (BAB) said, "We are losing our investment everyday. Egg & chicken supply being hampered for lack of transports. Approximately 25-30 per cent egg & chicken remaining unsold. He said, "If we can't do business, how do we repay bank loan?" In the previous years thousands of grassroots farmers had to sale their homes and lands. Expressing agony, Mr. Khan said, "how many times do we have to incurred losses for political instability?" He urged all parties including BNP and 20-party alliance to keep the egg, chicken, day-old-chicks, feed, vaccine and other raw materials ladened vehicles, out of every sort of hartals, blockades and violent political programmes.     

Dr. M.M. Khan, Secretary General, Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) said that the industry produced around 28 crores eggs during 14 days hartal-blockade. He claimed that around 8.5 crores egg could not be marketed due to unavailability of transportation. The losses was approximately Tk.47 crores. Around 7 thousand Metric Tonnes of chicken meat and 99 lakh day-old-chicks could not be marketed. The production cost of broiler chick is Tk. 35 and per kg chicken production cost is Tk.110. Mr. Khan said,Tk.79 crores incurred losses for chicken meat and Tk.35 thousand crores for DOC.

Kh. Monsur Hossain, General Secretary, Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB) said, the demand for poultry feed in the last 14 days was around 91 thousand Metric Tonnes. The Feed Industry incurred losses of Tk.73 crores.

Rafiqul Haque, Vice-president, Animal Health Companies Association (AHCAB) informed that the monthly poultry medicine market in Bangladesh is Tk.330 crores. The total loss was Tk.20 crores in this sector.

Amirul Islam, Sr. Vice-president, Bangladesh Agro Feed Ingredients Importers & Traders Association (BAFIITA) said, the transport cost hiked up as raw materials could not be supplied on time. The production cost of Feed increasing, said Mr. Chowdhury.

The BPICC leaders said they could not but to cull around 22 lakhs Day-old-Chicks every day, failing to distribute it to dealers. They urged the government and all political parties to find out a better solution of the political crisis and peaceful democratic movements replacing hartal and blockade. They also demanded incentives to restrain stability in poutry business.