The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has announced another rise in egg prices, attributing it to low production and high feed costs.
Mojeed Iyiola, the PAN Lagos State Chairman, cited scarcity as a contributing factor.
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 explained: “The current hike in egg prices is due to egg scarcity. Many farmers have sold off their old layers, and acquiring new stock is prohibitively expensive, with day-old chicks becoming unaffordable. Farmers who can purchase day-old chicks are considered affluent. Additionally, numerous local farmers have shut down their operations due to the high cost of feed. Presently, a kilogram of maize costs as much as N850, compared to N400 to N500 at the beginning of the year. The prices of soya and groundnut cake have also risen dramatically.”
A crate of eggs now sells for between N3,800 and N4,000 at the farm gate and above N4,500 in retail shops and markets, compared to N3,200 to N3,500 in May.
Despite this increase, Iyiola mentioned that it is insufficient for farmers to recover their investments.
He added: “Most farmers are operating at a loss. Even if a crate of eggs sells for N5,000, farmers are barely breaking even. We plan to liaise with the food hub at Idi-Oro because our farmers 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.”
He warned that if the situation continues unchecked, the sector might collapse entirely.
Theresa Muyi, a poultry farmer in Alimosho, concurred with Iyiola, suggesting a further price increase could be imminent.
She stated: “Poultry feed prices have risen, 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 feed prices increase almost every week.”
