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Growth of the country's poultry industry fell substantially over the past decade for reasons ranging from diseases to higher cost of fund.
"The industry enjoyed a boom in growth between 40 per cent and 50 per cent during 1992-2000, but it has now come down to 15-20 per cent," said Syed Abu Siddique, secretary general of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA).
He said the fear of Alfa toxin and bird flu, and high interest rates on bank loans and natural calamities over the years were mainly responsible for a sluggish growth of the poultry (broiler) industry.
The annual demand for poultry birds in Bangladesh is between 400 million to 500 million pieces and currently the country has been producing 150 million to 160 million, he said adding that during 1992-1993 the annual production of broilers were more than 250 million pieces.
Roughly 6.0 billion eggs are now annually although the quantity is not enough to meet the local demand, Siddique said.
But during 1992 the production of broiler declined by 40 per cent due to natural calamities, he said adding that the country has the capacity to grow 1.0 billion pieces of broilers annually.
The annual turnover from this industry in Bangladesh is between Tk 4.0-5.0 billion while the total investment is in between Tk 40 and Tk 50 billion, Siddique said adding that 1.5 million farmers are directly and 3.5 million more are indirectly involved in this sector.
Currently, 75000 to 80,000 layers and broiler farms are in operation throughout the country, he said.
Besides, hatchery, breeder, cage making, poultry feeds, medicine and so on have grown up locally as the backward and forward linkage industries, he said.
Siddique said: "We hope the growth rate of this industry would pick up again as more and more investors are coming up to invest in this sector, he said adding that the draft poultry policy has already been submitted to the cabinet committee and it is expected to be passed in parliament soon.
The total members of this association might be more than 15,000 across the country while the number of central members is 250, he said.
Meanwhile, in the international markets broiler production in 2005 is forecast to rise by as much as 2.1 million tonnes or almost four per cent to a record high of 57.34 million tonnes, said a survey report by the USDA's (United States Department of Agriculture) recently published in the Poultry International's January 2005 issue.
The survey report said that the global broiler poultry meat production in 2004 was 55.23 million tonnes while in 2003 it was 54.25 million tonnes, the report said.
Regarding trade, the report forecast that in 2005, broiler exports would rise by more than seven per cent to a record near 6.3 million tonnes. It said the Asian markets would determine a long-term growth in broiler meat production and consumption.
In 2003 and 2004, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks disrupted production and exports in Asia, the Netherlands, Canada and the USA, the report said.
According to the report, in 2004 Brazil took over from the USA as the leading exporter of broiler meat.
In the local markets, the prices of poultry birds that registered an unusual hike a month back dropped again due to increase in their supply from the countryside.
Broiler is now selling between Tk 70 to Tk 75 per kg compared to its previous rates between Tk 80 and Tk 85 at the retail levels. At the wholesale level it is selling between Tk 55 and Tk 60 per kg, the traders said.
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