After about a month and a half of egg prices soaring to a record high of Tk 15 each, the commerce ministry on Sunday approved the import of 40 million eggs, equivalent to the country's one-day consumption.

According to the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, Bangladesh's daily demand for eggs is around 40 million. Four private companies have been given permission to import eggs.

Commerce Minister Tapan Kanti Ghosh said more eggs may be allowed to be imported if necessary. Further decisions will be taken based on availability and prices in the local market.

Authorities did not specify a cut-off date or country of origin for the imports. However, one of the companies mentioned that they are likely to import eggs from India within a week.

According to a Commerce Ministry official, the approved private importers include Mim Enterprise, Tiger Trading, Prime Energy and Arnab Trading. Each of them can import 10 million eggs with five conditions, including sourcing the product from countries free of bird flu, he said.

In mid-August, the price of eggs soared to a record Tk 15 each, before falling to Tk 13 to Tk 13.25 each. Amid sharp fluctuations in the market, the commerce ministry set the maximum price of eggs at Tk 12 last Thursday.

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However, the price in the market remained at Tk 12.5-13.2 each till Monday morning, according to city grocery stores.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said they are aiming to stabilize the price and that's why they approved the import. Egg imports will continue until the market returns to normal, he added.

Senior Commerce Minister Tapan Kanti Ghosh said the four companies have not yet received a specific timeline for importing eggs, but have urged them to expedite the process.

He noted that the necessary paperwork and logistics may take some time to get the process started.

On the country of origin for the importation of the eggs, Gosh said that no specific country has been designated, but that it is the choice of the importers. He said additional imports may be allowed if required, depending on market supply and price dynamics.

Saifur Rahman, owner of Tiger Trading Ltd, said they had applied for permission to import 100 million eggs, but only 10 million were approved.

"We can procure eggs from India within seven working days," he said. Rahman mentioned that the current export price of eggs from India is between Tk 5.9 and Tk 7.2.

"We can supply them at less than Tk 9 each and the maximum retail price is not more than Tk 10 each."

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In August last year, six companies, including Tiger Trading, sought to import 510 million eggs to counter the record spike in egg prices in the domestic market, he said. But the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock did not grant permission at that time.

SM Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), appreciated the government's decision on the import of eggs, but pointed out that the limited imports could only meet the day's demand.

He said the import process should be simplified and the maximum retail price of imported eggs should be set by the commerce ministry at Tk 10 each instead of Tk 12 if they come from neighboring India.

The consumer rights leader said safe eggs should be imported to prevent any potential outbreak of flu from foreign sources.

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