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Poultry farmers blame forex crisis, price of feeds on rising egg prices

The Lagos State Chapter of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has attributed the surge in egg prices to the volatile foreign exchange rates and the avarice of certain intermediaries, as stated by Mr. Mojeed Iyiola, the chapter’s Chairman, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

Reports indicates a continuous rise in the prices of eggs and other poultry products. In January, a crate of eggs from the poultry farm gate was priced at N2700, whereas it now sells for approximately N3400.

Iyiola explains that the price hike is a consequence of the increasing costs of feed materials, driven by fluctuations in the Naira-to-dollar exchange rates.

He stated, “The price of feed materials is the cause for the hike in the price of poultry produce, especially egg.
“The price of feed materials increases on daily basis. You buy a bag of layers’ feed for N10,000 today, the next day it would have risen to N10,500 and so on.
“Dealers in poultry feed materials have blamed the fluctuations in dollars exchange rate as the reason for the constant increment.”

He further noted that soyabean- a major component of poultry meal is imported as farmers now prefer to sell neighbouring countries to make higher profits.

What you should know

The poultry industry is grappling with escalating production expenses due to the surge in maize prices, a key component in poultry feed manufacturing.
For instance, the price of maize soared by 79.23% year-on-year, from N329.05 per 1kg in December 2022 to N589.75 in December 2023. The monthly increase stood at 5.47% compared to N559.18 recorded in November 2023.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) food price index for December 2023, the cost of chicken feet surged by 81.71% on a year-on-year basis from December 2022 to December 2023.
Moreover, the price of medium Agric eggs witnessed a year-on-year increase of 52.09% from December 2022 to December 2023, with a monthly inflation rate of 4.39% in eggs.