Fish and chicken prices are poised to increase any moment from now, as the cost of maize and soybeans threaten farmers in the country.
In spite of the fact that fish and chicken prices have sharply increased in recent months due to the high cost of maize and soybeans, it is likely that Nigerians would pay more going forward to secure the food items.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that a crate of eggs costs between N1,700 – N1, 900, depending on the location and size. This is as the Executive Council of the Price Advisory Committee of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) approved a new farm gate price of N1, 700 for a crate of normal size eggs, a development that was attributed to several challenges faced by poultry farmers in the country, ranging from the persistent rise in the prices of feed ingredients to the increase in the cost of production.
On the other hand, a carton of fish which used to cost N7,000 has suddenly skyrocketed to N37,000 and N42, 000.
While soybeans and maize are major ingredients that are used for poultry and fish feeds, their higher costs and that of others, are squeezing the margins for farmers in their production processes, such that they have to inflate the prices of their outputs for consumers.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stated that it disbursed N75.9 billion to farmers between November and December 2021 under its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
Amongst other things, the fund was to support the cultivation of over 383,000 hectares of maize, rice, and wheat during the 2022 dry season, which is expected to bring the cumulative disbursements under the programme to N927.94 billion to over 4.5 million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 commodities across the country.
