The President Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Chief Sunday Ezeobiora has expressed concerns over the detrimental impact of the record-high prices of maize and soybeans on the Nigerian poultry industry. He said the consequences of the high cost include a significant job losses. He said this was because two crucial ingredients in the formulation of poultry feeds are soybeans and maize. Meanwhile , the poultry industry in Nigeria requires over four million metric tonnes of maize each year to fulfil the demand of farmers. The poultry sector is currently grappling with the challenges posed by soaring prices of maize and soybeans, Maize is now being sold at N910, 000 per tonne, while soybeans are priced at N714, 000 per metric tonnes. The high prices of these essential ingredients for poultry feeds are attributed to decreased productivity caused by insecurity and climate change. Consequently, fewer individuals are engaging in poultry farming due to the increased operational costs and reduced purchasing power of consumers.
Ezeobiora expressed his concern over the fact that a large portion of the soybeans produced locally is currently being sent overseas, resulting in challenges for producers due to a reduced domestic supply. He noted: “If not because of the Presidential order to allow imports of soybeans, the price of a tonne of soybeans would have gone up to N 1million. The announcement that the government made stopped the price from moving up.”
Additionally, he highlighted the various factors such as decreased demand for eggs, disruptions in the supply chain, expensive feed costs, scarcity of foreign exchange, avian influenza, and rapidly increasing inflation, all pose a threat to the survival of numerous farms. He called upon the Federal Government to address the insecurity issue to facilitate the return of farmers to their fields and boost maize production for the nation. Furthermore, he highlighted the challenges such as decreased egg demand, supply chain disruptions, costly feed, foreign exchange scarcity, avian flu outbreaks, and increasing inflation that are endangering the survival of many farms.
He urged the government to allocate maize from the National Grains Reserve to poultry farmers. The cost of maize surged from N80,000 per tonne in January 2020 to N200,000 in January 2021, and prior to the new harvest, it was priced at N250,000 per tonne. Throughout 2022, maize prices varied between N190, 000 and N250,000, depending on the market. By January last year, the price surged to N290,000 per tonne, and fluctuated between N350,000 and N400,000 per tonne. The current maize price is causing apprehension among consumers and stakeholders in the value chain nationwide.
