Poultry farmers seek licence to import maize to reduce production cost

The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, has requested a licence to import maize to alleviate the production cost faced by its members.

Chairman of the association, Mojeed Iyiola, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday, in Lagos, said that production costs had surged since the beginning of the year, prompting the association’s appeal for an import licence.

He said: “The licence for the importation of maize is being given to few hands, and they are importing for their selfish gains. If they even decide to sell to poultry farmers and feed processors, they still sell at the same rate the open markets are selling to us.

“So, even the import waiver for maize is not favouring poultry farmers. That is why we are appealing to the Federal Government to give us as an association the right to import maize.

“When we import maize directly, we can now sell to our members at affordable rates, which will, in turn, reduce the cost of production. Buying from middlemen costs us a lot. For the import waiver policy to be effective and beneficial to the poultry sector, we should be given the licence to import.”

Iyiola noted that the cost of poultry products could not decrease due to the rising cost of poultry feed.

He said that the price of eggs could not be reduced because feed producers are increasing the cost of feed by a minimum of N800 every three days, adding that the grower feed, which was sold at N3,500 per 25kg bag at the beginning of the year, is now being sold for almost N13,000 per bag.

He also pointed out that no matter what you feed a layer, it cannot lay eggs twice a day.

According to him, the egg-laying process is a cycle that must be completed before the birds can lay.

He, however, expressed concerns that with the growing production cost, eggs are gradually becoming unaffordable for the poor.