TheCable

The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos state chapter, has blamed the increase in the price of poultry feeds and eggs on the fluctuating foreign exchange (FX) rate.

Speaking in an interview with NAN on Monday, Mojeed Iyiola, PAN (Lagos chapter) chairman, said the prices of eggs, as well as other poultry produce, have continued to also increase due to greed by some middlemen.

According to Iyiola, a crate of eggs from the poultry farm gate now sells for about N3,400 as against N2700 in January.

“The price of feed materials is the cause for the hike in the price of poultry produce, especially egg,” he said.

“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.”

Iyiola said major components of feed meal were being imported into Nigeria, adding that farmers preferred to export soybeans to neighbouring countries for higher profits.

“The component of the feed meal we do not import is maize. Even soybeans are partially imported into the country,” Iyiola said.

“They prefer exporting them to selling locally.”

The PAN chairman also said the “greed of middlemen in the sector, for extra profits, contributes to the consistent hike in egg price”.

“From the farm gate, the least we sell a crate of eggs is N3300 to N3400,” he said.

“Middlemen hike the price of the produce beyond normal; if you get a crate of eggs at the farm gate price, a profit of N200 is not bad.

Iyiola said middlemen prefer selling at higher rates to exploit the average Nigerian.