In a bid to bolster market supply and stabilise prices, the government has granted permission to 43 firms for the import of an additional 19.30 crore eggs.
This information was disclosed by sources from the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday (19 November).
According to the sources, on 18 November, the Ministry of Commerce instructed the Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports to undertake necessary measures for this import, with a formal order expected to be issued shortly.
Previously, on 23 October, 12 companies were permitted to import 4 crore eggs, while on 7 October, approval was granted for the import of 4.5 crore eggs. These import permissions remain valid until 31 December of the current year.
Notably, on 15 September, the Department of Agricultural Marketing set a "reasonable price" for eggs to control the escalating market.
Under this directive, the cost of each egg at the production stage was fixed at Tk10.58, at the wholesale level at Tk11.01, and at the retail level at Tk11.87, equating to Tk142.44 per dozen.
As market control efforts fell short, the government authorised two phases of egg imports and, on 17 October, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) reduced import duties on eggs to make prices more affordable for the public.
On that date, the import duty on eggs was reduced from 25% to 5%.
After extensive monitoring of the market by various government ministries and departments, meetings with egg traders, the importation of eggs from India, and reductions in import duty, some relief is now being observed in the egg market.
Currently, the price of a dozen eggs stands at Tk144.
