EFFECT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON MARKET PRICE OF POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the wholesale price of chicken and chicken products. Data of one year were collected from online database of poultry news portal from which 6 months of pre-covid and 6 month of covid period. A structured questionnaire was prepared to put market price of chicken and chicken products from eight divisions of Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Chattogram of Bangladesh. Secondary data were collected for 12 months from each divisions for all parameters. The results showed that the average wholesale price of broilers, culled white chicken and Sonali chicken, shell eggs (brown and white) and day-old-chicks (brown chicks, white layer chicks and broiler chicks) were fluctuated due to COVID-19 pandemic, but no significant (p>0.05) difference was found in prices except live culled red chicken. The average wholesale price of culled red chicken in Chattogram was 171.12±19.67Tk/kg on July to December 2019 and 195.34±35.70Tk/kg on July to December 2020. In Khulna and Rajshahi the wholesale price of brown shell eggs has descending order whereas in Dhaka, Barishal and Chattogram the price has a accending order, but it remain unchanged in Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rangpur during COVID pandemic. The wholesale price of white shell eggs in Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi showed decreasing trend during pandemic but increasing trend in Chattogram. The wholesale price of white layer chicks was lowered by 21.43Tk, 23.79Tk and 31.03Tk/chick in COVID period than pre-COVID period in Dhaka, Barishal and Rangpur, whereas minor price fluctuation was observed in brown layer and broiler chicks.The extreme wholesale price of a Sonali chick was 15.67±3.50/chick in Rangpur only during pandemic. The study concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the poultry industry.