Poultry farmers in Bangladesh are currently incurring losses of at least Tk 2 on each egg sold due to falling market prices, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku said on Sunday.

 “We must prioritise marginal farmers. If small-scale producers are affected, the entire sector will be at risk,” he said at a stakeholder dialogue with poultry trade bodies held at a city hotel.

He said the small-scale producers—the backbone of the sector—could face collapse if the situation is not addressed urgently.

The state minister said large businesses also have a responsibility to support smaller operators who are under pressure from selling below production cost while facing reduced access to credit for purchasing chicks.

He urged major industry players to restore credit facilities for small farmers and stressed the need for integrity in vaccine supply chains. “Companies importing vaccines must ensure quality. Substandard vaccines should never be supplied to marginal farmers,” he said.

Addressing concerns over loan complications and rising taxes, Tuku said poultry farmers would be brought under the Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s newly introduced Farmer Card scheme, which he said would help ease access to credit and resolve tax-related issues.

Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Delwar Hossain assured stakeholders of possible tax relief for the sector and said policy concerns including regulatory and operational challenges would be resolved through continued dialogue.

On vaccine production, he said Bangladesh currently manufactures about 12 percent of its required animal vaccines domestically but this capacity could be doubled with modest infrastructure improvements. “The government is working towards expanding local production,” he said.

Director General of the Department of Livestock Shahzaman Khan said steps would be taken to gradually reduce small farmers’ dependence on moneylenders and middlemen. “Around 90 percent of poultry farmers are small operators who rely heavily on intermediaries for feed, chicks and finance. That dependency will be reduced,” he said.

Industry representatives at the event said with the right policy support, Bangladesh could meet domestic poultry demand fully and potentially begin exporting poultry products by 2030.