The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has stated that prices of eggs may increase to ₦10,000 per crate.
The Association warned that this would be the case if steps are not taken to address the hike in the cost of fuel in the country.
They attributed the rising cost of the protein to the high cost of transportation and the indiscriminate increase in feed prices by the millers.
The Secretary of PAN, FCT Chapter, Musa Hakeem, said this at a press briefing to commemorate World Egg Day on Saturday in Abuja.
Hakeem stated that the Federal Government, as a matter of urgency, must declare an emergency on Egg production in the country given the serious decline in protein intake, saying Nigerians can not afford to depend on the importation of eggs.
He pointed out, “If we should go by the proportional increase in the prices of these factors mentioned earlier, we will be buying eggs at N10,000 per create, but because we wanted to be compassionate, coupled with the important of eggs for health, we left the price at the current price of N5,500.”
Hakeem warned that the protein prices may soon change to ₦6000, going by the increasing poultry feed prices.
He said, “To the best of my knowledge, the last time we received any grains intervention from the government was three years ago saying other respite by the government to cushion the high prices of food are only read on the pages of the newspaper.”
He called on the government to ensure that they carry PAN along in their intervention activities as they have the data of all the poultry farmers in the FCT.
He lamented that the government is not paying the required attention to the poultry subsector as it has been neglected over time, saying business owners have been operating in their own volition and hoped the industry does not crash.