Poultry feed prices jump twice in a month as raw material costs rise 27%
Rising ingredient costs push poultry feed higher, tightening pressure on farms
Bdbusinessdaily.com – Poultry farmers are facing renewed cost pressure after feed prices increased twice within a month, leaving many smaller operations to reduce flock sizes and feed purchases. A kilogram of animal feed that cost about Tk68 in early August is now selling for as much as Tk72.50, a rise of nearly 7%.
The increases reflect sharp jumps in key inputs used by feed mills, including corn, de-oiled rice bran, soybean meal and other protein ingredients. Feed makers say the latest retail adjustments have still not covered their higher production costs, while farmers say they cannot always recover those expenses through stronger chicken or egg prices.
Core ingredients become substantially more expensive
Over the past month, corn prices have climbed by roughly 24%, de-oiled rice bran, commonly known as DORB, by 27%, and soybean meal by 20%. Exchange-rate movements have added to the burden for imported materials, while prices for other protein sources have also moved upward.
Corn with 13% moisture now costs Tk38.80 per kilogram, compared with Tk31.30 a month earlier. DORB has risen from Tk26 to Tk33 per kilogram. Rice bran containing 16% oil has moved from Tk33 to Tk39, while mustard oilcake has increased from Tk36.50 to Tk39.70.
Mosharraf Hossain Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association and managing director of Astha Feed Mill, said soybean prices rose from about $430 per tonne in August to $530 per tonne, exceeding a 20% increase.
“There is no alternative to increasing feed prices when the price of soybean rises so sharply. Even after increasing prices twice, we are still losing more than Tk3 per kg,” he said.
Feed prices first went up by Tk2 per kilogram in late August after smaller millers sought an adjustment. A further Tk2.50 per kilogram was added in mid-September as small and medium-sized producers tried to reduce their losses. Even so, manufacturers say finished-feed prices have not fully kept pace with the cost of raw materials.
Feed mills face a narrow margin
ATM Habibur Rahman, chief business officer of Akij Feed Mills, said corn has been one of the most volatile inputs. During March, April and May, it was available at Tk28 to Tk29 per kilogram. By June, July and August, the price had reached Tk38 to Tk40 per kilogram.
“During March-April-May, corn was available at Tk28-29 per kg. But in June, July and August, the price increased to Tk38-40,” he said.
International corn prices have also increased, moving from roughly $235-$240 per tonne to almost $290 per tonne. Raw materials represent about 80% to 85% of the overall cost of producing quality poultry feed, making mills particularly exposed when commodity prices rise at home or abroad.
“When the prices of corn, soybean meal, rice bran and DORB rise in the local or international market, it becomes difficult for feed mills to sell feed at the previous price,” Habibur said.
He said a Tk4.50 increase in feed costs per kilogram should add no more than Tk6 per kilogram to chicken prices. Yet market volatility is not explained by feed alone. Disruptions across the supply chain, along with shortages of gas and electricity, can raise operating costs, interrupt production and affect demand.
The issue matters because feed is one of the largest recurring expenses in poultry farming. When mills pay more for grain and protein meals, farmers purchasing finished feed quickly feel the effect. If farm-gate prices for poultry and eggs do not rise in line with those expenses, producers have limited room to absorb the difference.
Small farms scale back purchases
Amir Hossain, a broiler farmer in Kutbari village in Mawna, Gazipur, has already cut monthly feed purchases from about 30 sacks to 28 and reduced the number of birds on his farm.
“Prices of different types of animal feed have increased by Tk2-3 per kg over the past week. The price of a 50kg sack of feed has increased by as much as Tk150,” he said.
For farmers, the increase is visible in each bulk purchase. A 50-kilogram sack of rice bran has become Tk500 more expensive, reaching Tk1,800. Corn has increased from Tk25 to Tk37 per kilogram, and a 50-kilogram sack of poultry feed can now cost as much as Tk3,675.
“When feed prices rise, our costs increase, but we do not get a corresponding increase in chicken prices. So we have to reduce feeding. We have also reduced the purchase of chicks because we fear the birds will gain less weight,” Amir said.
Reducing feed purchases or chick placements may help a farm manage immediate cash pressure, but it can also mean lower production later. Farmers are particularly concerned when costs rise while selling prices remain uncertain, because broiler production depends on maintaining sufficient feed for birds to reach market weight.
Farmers seek relief on inputs and utilities
Since early June, poultry farmers in Rajshahi, Gazipur, Pabna, Kishoreganj, Cumilla, Narsingdi, Dhaka, Kushtia and Mymensingh have staged protests over feed costs and weak returns. Their demands include lower feed prices, reduced taxes and duties on imported raw materials, and fair prices for eggs and chickens.
Jibon Islam, a farmer in Pabna, said feed can account for around 80% of production expenditure for some producers. He also pointed to the added risk posed by power cuts.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for farmers to survive by purchasing feed at higher prices. Load-shedding has also caused deaths of chicks, increasing our losses,” he said.
Russell Pradhan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Marginal Poultry Farmers Council, has called for locally produced DORB and rice bran to be secured for domestic demand first. For small and marginal farmers, dependable access to these inputs at manageable prices is central to maintaining production.
The current squeeze reaches beyond feed mills and farms. Higher operating expenses can flow through the poultry supply chain and influence what households pay for chicken and eggs. The challenge for the sector is to prevent volatile input prices, utility disruptions and uneven market returns from forcing more small producers to shrink their operations.
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