Poultry farmers in Lagos have decried the egg glut in the market and appealed to the government to mop up the produce.

Some poultry farmers across the state, who spoke to journalists on the effect of egg glut on the sector, said egg glut is a situation where the number of eggs in the market or produced is greater than the demand, causing an undesirable accumulation of table eggs in the farms or stores.

The national publicity secretary of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Godwin Egbebe, said farmers were losing and appealed for government intervention at all levels.

Mr Egbebe said farmers had reduced the prices of eggs due to the decline in demand, which has led to farmers’ losses.

“At large farm gates, a crate of eggs now goes for as low as N1,700 and N1,800 as against N2,000 or N2,100 that was sold just weeks ago. The egg glut is on the increase; the farmers are churning out eggs every day, but there are low demands following the cash crunch in the country,” Mr Egbebe stated.

The farmer added, “That is why we are calling on the government to mop up the eggs across our farms and distribute (them) to motherless babies’ homes, hospitals or even the prisons.”

The PAN scribe blamed the current egg glut on the limited cash circulation.

Mojeed Iyiola, the PAN chair in Lagos, said, “We have had to drop our prices due to the egg glut. Still, people do not come for them. Marketers and middlemen have used this opportunity to collect eggs on credit and still refuse to pay. We are appealing to the federal government on this issue. It is a serious case and trying time in the poultry sector.”

Mr Iyiola explained that the association had spoken to the commissioner for agriculture in Lagos to mop up the eggs and give them to the less privileged.

“Some states in the northern part of the country are doing likewise,” he added.

A poultry farmer and processor, Joel Oduware, blamed the naira scarcity solely for the current egg glut.

“The naira scarcity has created a massive glut in the sector, and the poultry industry has estimated the loss at N30 billion within the cash crunch period,” said Mr Oduware. “It is a loss the sector would have to bear as we have not received any compensation from the government.”

Another farmer, Emmanuel Iregbeyen, noted that the egg glut negatively impacted the poultry sector.

“The cash scarcity has really affected the purchasing power of Nigerians and has consequently resulted in the egg glut we are experiencing currently,” Mr Iregbeyen said. 

(NAN)