TUESDAY, 12^th October, 2021: Several operators in the Nigerian poultry sector have warned that the sector might collapse if effective measures are not put in place by the Federal Government to subsidise the sector.

According to reports from many operators and key players in the industry, the industry has been recording losses on a daily basis due to the astronomical increase in the cost of soya beans and maize, which are the major ingredients used in the production of feeds.

Reports also says that while prices of eggs and other poultry products have not gone beyond 15-20 per cent, the price of maize in the last one year, has risen to about 170 per cent while that of soya beans has soared by 300 per cent.

It was added that most of the micro ingredients for feed production are completely imported alongside issues of volatility of the exchange rate and scarcity of foreign exchange coupled with the charges paid at the seaport before importation.

All these factors, according to them, contribute to the high production cost of poultry and poultry products

The Director-General of Poultry Association of Nigeria, Dr Onallo Akpa, while speaking on the sidelines of the World Egg Day Celebration in Abuja, yesterday, said no poultry farmer makes a profit margin of more than 100 per cent as of today.

He said there will be dire consequences if the industry is allowed to collapse, adding that the consequences include, loss of jobs for about 20-25million people the industry currently employs, crop value-chain disruption and the sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product will be completely eroded.

While pointing out that there is a disconnect between policy makers, regulators and operators in the field, Akpa stressed the need for constant dialogue between operators and the government so as to find a way out of the menace.