The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has revealed another increase in egg prices, blaming low production and high feed costs. Mojeed Iyiola, the PAN Lagos state Chairman, said that the rise egg prices is also due to scarcity....Read The Full Story Here ▶
The Nation reports that Iyiola cited the cost of maize, which is used to feed the chickens, as a major reason for the hike in fuel prices.
He said:
The reason for the current hike in egg prices is the scarcity of eggs. Most farmers have sold off their old layers, and acquiring new stock is very expensive, with the cost of day-old chicks becoming unbearable.
“Farmers who can afford to buy day-old chicks are considered well-off. Additionally, many local farmers have shut down their farms due to the high cost of feed.
“Currently, a kilogram of maize costs as much as N850, compared to the N400 to N500 it sold for at the beginning of the year.
“The same applies to soya and groundnut cake, with prices increasing astronomically.”
A crate of eggs now sells between N3,800 and N4,000 from the farm gate and above N4,500 in retail shops and markets against N3,200 to N3,500 it was sold in May.
Despite the increase, Iyiola said it is not enough for farmers to recover their investments.
Iyiola added:
In fact, most farmers are operating at a loss. Even if a crate of eggs sells for N5,000, farmers are barely breaking even.
“We want to liaise with the food hub at Idi-Oro because our farmers are complaining that they can no longer afford to sell at a loss.
“We supply eggs at the farm gate for N3,800 per crate, and with the same logistics costs, we still sell at N3,800 at the hub, which means we are incurring losses.
“With all these logistics expenses, a crate of eggs should be sold for N4,500 at the food hub.”
He warned that if the current situation continues unchecked, the sector may collapse entirely
Theresa Muyi, a poultry farmer in Alimosho, agreed with the PAN chairman, suggesting a further increase could be.
She said:
“Poultry feed prices have increased, and we now sell a crate of eggs from the farm gate for between N3,800 and N4,000. Retailers are selling them for N4,500 and above.”
“The price is still unstable because almost every week there is an increase in feed prices
