NIGERIA—The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, has appealed for a license to import maize in an effort to alleviate the rising production costs faced by poultry farmers.
This request was made by the Chairman of the Lagos State PAN, Mojeed Iyiola, during an interview on local media on August 6.
The call by the Lagos State PAN comes at a time when the Nigerian poultry industry is facing significant challenges, with many farmers struggling to stay afloat due to high feed costs.
Maize, a critical component of poultry feed, has been subject to import restrictions, exacerbating the situation.
Since the beginning of the year, poultry farmers have been grappling with escalating production costs.
“The license for the importation of maize is being given to a few hands, and they are importing for their selfish gains. If they even decide to sell to poultry farmers and feed processors, they still sell at the same rate the open markets are selling to us, even though the import waivers for maize are supposed to favor poultry farmers,” said Mr. Iyiola.
The PAN chairman emphasized the need for the association to be granted the right to import maize directly.
“When we import our maize directly, we can now sell to our members at affordable rates, which will, in turn, reduce our production costs. Buying from middlemen costs us a lot. For the import waiver policy to be effective and beneficial to the poultry sector, we should be given the license to import ourselves,” he added.
According to him, the cost of poultry products, such as eggs, has surged in tandem with the increasing cost of poultry feed.
He lamented that egg prices cannot come down now because, virtually every three days, the feed producers add a minimum of N800 (US$0.5) to the cost of feed.
The grower feed that was being sold at the rate of N3,500 (US$2.2) for a 25kg bag at the beginning of this year is now being sold at almost N13,000 (US$ 8,2) per bag,” Mr. Iyiola noted.
He further explained that the egg-laying process is cyclical, and the rising feed costs make it impossible to reduce egg prices.
“There is no way a layer can lay twice a day no matter what you feed it. The egg-laying process must be completed before the birds can lay again,” he explained.
Mr. Iyiola expressed concerns that eggs, once a staple for the average Nigerian, are becoming increasingly unaffordable
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