Poultry farmers, in separate interviews with journalists on Sunday, attributed the current scarcity and price hikes of eggs to the shortage of day-old chicks (DOCs) in the country.

There have been speculations of a looming egg shortage and a subsequent increase in the price of the produce.

Currently, the price of a crate of eggs from the farm gate is N5,500, as against N5,000 sold in January this year.

Some retailers sell between N6,000 and N6,500, depending on egg size, while supermarkets and large grocery stores sell between N7,000 and N8,500 per crate.

The chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, Mojeed Iyiola, said the lack of DOCs was the major reason for the looming scarcity of the produce.

“The major reason for the looming scarcity of eggs is that most old layers have been sold off, and poultry farmers currently have no access to DOCs.

“Presently, we cannot book for DOCs till December. Actually, all the hatcheries are fully booked, and even our national body has tried to intervene.

“Initially, we were thinking that hatcheries were exporting their DOCs because of the hard currency they were collecting, but that’s not the case now.

“When farmers go to the hatcheries to book for DOCs, aside from unavailability, every week, the prices go up,” Mr Iyiola said.

He said the price hike for DOCs and their unavailability were gradually crippling the sector.

“From N1,800 last year, the price of a DOC has almost doubled to N3,300, and when farmers make their bookings, they are given a five to six-month waiting period before delivery.

“Then, the farmers will incur more costs to rear the DOC  for another four or five months before they start laying.

“The reason for this scarcity of DOCs and subsequently eggs scarcity is because the government limited the licence for importation of parent stock,” Mr Iyiola said.

He noted that the government was currently engaging the government to give more licences for the importation of parent stock.

On her part, Olaide Graham, the national president of the Eggs Sellers and Distributors Association of Nigeria, affirmed the looming scarcity of the produce and its subsequent price hike.

“There is actually a looming scarcity of eggs and a hike in price, but we cannot really blame farmers for this, this time round.

“This is because they don’t get DOCs to buy. Some of them have paid for it for over six months now, and they have yet to be supplied. So, that’s the major reason that is causing scarcity right now,” Ms Graham said. 

She also noted that transportation costs arising from fuel price hikes contributed to the soaring cost of eggs.

“The government should just help us to look into it so that we can get increased production of DOCs and consequently more eggs in circulation,” she said.

Also, some consumers expressed concern about the rising cost of eggs, lamenting that the cheapest source of protein was becoming out of reach for the masses, especially the poor.

A resident of the Gbagada area of the state, Queen Olayimika, said that since the beginning of the year, the price of eggs has always been on the increase.

“Since this year, we have had no respite in the prices of eggs.  In January, a crate of tiny eggs sold for as high as N5,500. The eggs were like quail-sized eggs that you could break into eight pieces to make a meal.

“Currently, a crate of eggs sells as high as N6,000, even N6,650 depending on the location,” Ms Olayimika said.

Another consumer in the Alimosho area of the state, Benita Atse, complained about the unavailability of the produce.

“In January this year, I still bought a crate at N5,600, but now the price has increased to N6,300 for the same size of eggs.

“There are really no alternatives to eggs; however, it is still the cheapest protein to buy. We call on the federal government intervention and hope the price gets better,” Ms Atse said.

(NAN)