Egg glut: Poultry farmers seek government assistance

Poultry farmers in Lagos are lamenting the effect of the current egg glut and appealed to the government to assist in mopping up the produce.

The NewsZenith reports that an egg glut is a situation where the number of eggs supplied in the market is greater than the demand.

This causes an undesirable accumulation of table eggs in farms or stores.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Mr Godwin Egbebe, said farmers are running at a loss and appealed for government intervention at all levels.

According to him, major poultry farms have dropped their prices and are encountering total losses, due to the current glut.

“At large farm gates, a crate of eggs now sell between N1,700 and N1,800 as against N2,000 or N2,100 sold weeks ago.

“The egg glut is on the increase, farmers are churning out eggs every day but there are low demands following the cash crunch in the country.

“With the current volume of eggs, farmers are running at a loss because eggs are disposable perishable items.

“That is why we are calling on the government to mop up the eggs across our farms and distribute to motherless babies’ homes, hospitals or even the prisons,”” Egbebe said.

On his part, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, PAN Chairman in Lagos said these are trying times for the poultry sector.

Iyiola called on the government to come to the aid of farmers.

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“We have had to drop our prices due to the egg glut, still people do not come for them.

“The marketers and middlemen have used this opportunity to collect eggs on credit and refuse to pay.

“We are appealing to the federal government on this issue, it is a serious case and trying times in the Poultry sector.

“If this situation persists, our poultry sector will gradually phase out in the nearest future.

“It is a terrible situation in the sector now,” Iyiola said.

As a body, he said PAN had spoken with the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture to help mop up the eggs.

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

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

“The Naira scarcity has negatively impacted the entire poultry sector value chain, causing a huge debt.

“It is a loss the sector would have to bear as we have not received any compensation from the government,” Oduware said.