Have you noticed a hike in the price of eggs of late? Were you thinking that the prices might come down soon? There are indications that consumers may have to live with the hike for some time to come. This is because the factors that created the hike in price do not appear to have been addressed yet. This is because, according to the Lagos State Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) and other stakeholders, the causes are low production and high cost of feed.
Mojeed Iyiola PAN Lagos state chairman stated this while explaining the challenges of members of his association. A crate of eggs sells for between N3,800 and N4,000 from the farm gate and above N4,500 in retail shops and markets, compared to N3,200 to N3,500 in May.
According to Iyiola, the persistent hike in the price of eggs is due to scarcity because a tonne of maize currently sells for N800,000, as against N400,000 in January.
He said “Most farmers have sold off their old layers, and to get new stock is very expensive as the price of a day-old chick is becoming unbearable. Farmers who are able to buy day-old chicks are considered to be well-to-do. Also, a majority of our local farmers have shut down their farms due to the high cost of feed.” That is a major cause of the problem because soya bean and groundnut cakes that would have been used as alternative to maize have also become exorbitant.
However, even if the prices of those ingredients remain constant, there is no guaranty that the prices of eggs will not go up soon. This is because he claimed that the current cost of eggs is not commensurate with the rate at which the cost of feed materials is increasing.
Hear him, “In fact, most farmers are running at a loss. That is why the only existing farmers are trying to keep the sector running. Even if a crate of egg sells at N5,000, the farmers will only be managing to get by.” Now, matters may have gotten to the head. Mr. Iyiola said his colleagues are grumbling under the weight of the high cost of production. He said, “We want to liaise with the food hub at Idi-oro, our farmers are complaining that they can no longer afford to sell at a loss.
“We supply eggs at the farm gate at N3,800 per crate and with the same logistics we still sell at N3,800 at the hub. This means we are running at a loss.”
When he was asked what the right pricing would have been, he said, “With all these incurred logistics expenses a crate of eggs should be sold for N4,500 at the food hub,” he said.
Mr. Iyiola who said egg was becoming a luxury in the country fears for the collapse of the sector, unless something drastic was done.
However, his association is not keeping quiet on the development. He said, “We have scheduled a meeting with the government to tackle the situation because there is nothing an individual can do on this issue. We need government intervention.”
Mr Godwin Egbebe, the National Publicity Secretary PAN, who corroborated Iyiola said, “The increment is over 1,000 per cent, so you can see the reasons for the hike in poultry products. The way forward is that the government as a matter of urgency should bring in grains in the short term. And in the long term, they should ensure that farmers go back to their farms secured.”
To what extent has the distribution of palliatives impacted the sector? Egbede said, “Palliatives cannot solve the problem, it is like a drop in an ocean. It makes little or no impact.” He said that in some supermarkets, a crate of eggs is being sold for N5,000 and above.
the scaring aspect of it is that the farmer can hardly plan because there is no certainty in the system. He said, “Every day we go to buy feeds, the price changes. As we speak, farmers are actually selling at a loss. Most farmers are not breaking even, so they are folding up.”
