The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, is requesting a licence to import maize to alleviate production costs of its members.
Mr. Mojeed Iyiola, the chairman of the PAN Lagos State chapter, stated this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Iyiola explained that production costs have surged since the beginning of the year, prompting the association’s appeal for an import license.
He said, “The licence for the importation of maize is being given to 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.”
“So even the import waivers for maize is favouring is poultry farmers. That is why we are appealing to the government to give us as an association, the right to import our maize ourselves.”
“When we import our maize directly, we can now sell to our members at affordable rates which will in turn reduce our cost of production. Buying from middlemen cost us a lot. For the import waiver policy to be effective and beneficial to the poultry sector, we should be given the licence to import ourselves,”
Why egg prices cannot drop for now
The PAN chairman noted that the cost of poultry products, such as eggs, cannot decrease at present due to the rising cost of poultry feed.
He explained that the prices of eggs cannot come down now because feed producers are increasing the cost of feed by a minimum of N800 every three days.
He added that the grower feed, which was sold at N3,500 for a 25kg bag at the beginning of the year, is now being sold for almost N13,000 per bag. He also pointed out that no matter what you feed a layer, it cannot lay eggs twice a day.
According to Iyiola, the egg-laying process is a cycle that must be completed before the birds can lay again. He expressed concerns that with the growing production costs, eggs are gradually becoming unaffordable for the poor. He emphasized that this is unfortunate because a single egg contains all the nutritional requirements needed by the human body.
Backstory
The federal government recently approved a 150-day duty-free window for the importation of maize, husked brown rice, and wheat as part of its efforts to combat rising food inflation in the country.
The policy has generated diverse discussion among stakeholders in the agriculture industry with some applauding the policy while others state that it could erode gains made in local production of those items.
