Worsening insecurity, high logistic costs fuel rising poultry feeds

The worsening insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation and high logistic costs are causing a rise in the prices of poultry feeds across the country.

Ayoola Oduntan, president of the Feed Industry Practitioners Association of Nigeria (FIPAN) made this known during his inauguration as the newly elected president of the association recently in Lagos.

Oduntan recognised the vital role the feed industry plays in Nigeria’s livestock and poultry sub-sectors but also acknowledged the mounting challenges facing the industry.

He pointed to the rising costs of maize and soybean, two key critical ingredients in feed production owing to the country’s worsening insecurity and high logistic costs of transporting the grains from the farms to the mills.

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He promised to address these concerns by broadening the focus of the industry to include ruminants and swine feed while also emphasising building partnerships to drive the adoption of new technologies and innovations across the industry.

A metric ton of maize currently sells for N1 million as against N480,000 per metric ton in 2023, indicating a 108 percent rise in price in one year, according to a BusinessDay’s market survey.

Similarly, a metric ton of soybeans now sells for N815,000 as against N425,000 in the corresponding period of 2023, representing a 92 percent increase in price.

Nigeria is the second largest grower of maize in Africa, but it has seen a huge shortfall in the grain.

The continuous price surge in the two key ingredients for poultry feeds poses a major threat to poultry businesses and food security in the country, according to experts.