Poultry farmers have attributed the current price hike of eggs and scarcity to the shortage of Day-Old-Chicks (DOCs) in the country.

The farmers and traders disclosed this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria NAN on Sunday in Lagos.

There has been speculations of a looming scarcity of eggs and subsequent increase in the price of the product

Currently, the price of a crate of eggs from the farm gate is N5,500, as against N5,000 sold in January this year.

Some retailers sell between N6,000 and N6,500 depending on the size of the eggs while supermarkets and large groceries stores sell between N7,000 and N8,500 per crate.

The Chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr. Mojeed Iyiola, said lack of DOCs was the major reason for the looming scarcity of the produce.

“The major reason for the looming scarcity of eggs is that most old layers have been sold off and poultry farmers currently have no access to DOCs.

“Presently, we cannot book for DOCs till December. Actually, all the hatcheries have been fully booked, even our national body has tried to intervene on this matter.

“Initially, we were thinking that hatcheries were exporting their DOCs because of the hard currency they are collecting, but that’s not the case now.

“When farmers go to the hatcheries to book for DOCs, aside from unavailability, every week, the prices go up,” Iyiola said.

He said the hike in the price of DOCs and the unavailability were gradually crippling the sector.

“From N1,800 last year, the price of a DOC has almost doubled to N3,300 and when farmers make their bookings, they are given a five to six months waiting period before delivery.

“Then, the farmers will incur more costs to rear the DOC for another four or five months before they will start laying.

“And not all of them will start laying at the same time. For them to get to the peak, it takes another three months to boost their egg production.

“The reason for this scarcity of DOCs and subsequently eggs scarcity is because the government limited the licence for importation of parent stock.

“We are currently engaging the government to give more licences for the importation of parent stock.

“Even as an association, PAN is asking the Federal Government to give them the licence to import DOCs to cushion the scarcity,” Iyiola said.

On her part, Mrs. Olaide Graham, the National President of Eggs Sellers and Distributors Association of Nigeria, affirmed the looming scarcity of the produce and its subsequent price hike.

“There is actually a looming scarcity of eggs and a hike in price, but we cannot really blame farmers for this, this time round.

“This is because they don’t get DOCs to buy. Some of them have paid for it for over six months now and they are yet to be supplied. So, that’s the major reason that is causing scarcity right now.

“Also, the cost of transportation due to the recent fuel price hike is a contributory factor to the price hike of eggs and the looming scarcity,” Graham said.

She also noted that the old layers needed to be replaced because of the law of diminishing returns.

“And in fact, no matter how long the old layers have been in the farm, they have to be replaced because of the law of diminishing returns.

“The government should just help us to look into it, so we can get increased production of DOCs and consequently more eggs in circulation.

“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture should take it up themselves to solve this problem.

“We know they are trying, they are really trying, but they should just put more effort. We sure hope the situation doesn’t worsen,” she said.

Also, some consumers expressed their concerns over the rising cost of eggs.

They lamented that the cheapest source of protein was getting out of reach of the masses, especially the poor.

A resident at Gbagada area of the state, Mrs Queen Olayimika, said since the beginning of the year, the price of eggs has always been on the increase.

“Since this year, we have had no respite in the prices of eggs. In January a crate of tiny eggs sold as high as N5,500 per crate.

The eggs were like quail-sized eggs that you could break eight pieces just to make a meal.

Currently, a crate of eggs sells as high as N6,000 even N6,650 depending on the location.
We have no choice but to buy it because there are really no alternatives to eggs in our children’s diet.

“We cannot predict the price anymore,” she said.

Another consumer, at the Alimosho area of the state, Mrs Benita Atse, complained about the unavailability of the produce.

“Recently, my egg supplier has delayed my supply due to unavailability of the produce.

“In January this year, I still bought a crate at N5,600 but now the price has increased to N6,300 for the same size of eggs.

“There are really no alternatives to eggs, however it is still the cheapest protein to buy.

We call on the Federal Government intervention and hope the price gets better,” Atse said.(NAN)