March 6, 2013
Nigeria poultry farmers affected by high input prices
Nigeria's poultry industry has risen to 268,000 tonnes in 2011, from 185,300 tonnes a decade ago.
However, high input costs in 2008 and 2010, caused flock expansion to effectively cease in 2008 and in 2011.
Although an import ban on corn was lifted in 2008, most poultry producers are concerned that corn merchants, with strong political connections, will use Custom officials to delay imports, according to a recent USDA report.
Soy meal is the dominant and preferred protein ingredient in poultry feed rations. Prices of soy meal surged to US$775 per tonne in 2011, up from US$485 the previous year. In ideal situations, poultry producers would prefer a soy meal inclusion rate of 30% for feed, but the scarcity and high cost of the product have forced them to reformulate in favour of low quality substitutes such as peanut cake, cottonseed, and palm kernel meal.
Nigeria currently bans live poultry (with the exception of day-old chicks) and poultry meat, including fresh, frozen, and cooked poultry meat, due to concerns over their ability to enforce SPS standards on imported animals and goods.
In 2011, Nigeria's egg production was 636,000 tonnes and valued at US$527.49 million, ranking the country at the 19th spot in world egg production and the top producer in Africa.