Egg powder to the rescue of struggling poultry farmers

Poultry farmers in Nigeria lose about $1billion annually due to egg glut in certain periods of the year but investments in egg processing plants could remedy the situation, writes Josephine Okojie

Olademiji Akinlolu runs a flourishing poultry farm. He is a 25-year old farmer based in Iseyin, Oyo State. Akinlolu started his poultry business three years ago while still an undergraduate. However, his constant efforts to sell his eggs often hit a brick wall, and this is becoming a yearly occurrence.

The reason for this is not farfetched. Egg glut is hitting the Nigerian market. It occurs between February and May, owing to increased production and low consumption of eggs within that period. This is when the poultry farmer makes losses and is desperate to find an escape route.

“After my tertiary education, I could not secure employment, so I decided to go into poultry farming because it is profitable. But since starting it, I have realised that raising layers for egg production has not been quite profitable owing to the yearly egg glut farmers’ experience,” Akinlolu said.

“Between February and May each year, there is always low egg consumption because the weather is hotter. So people consume less of it. Eggs are mostly consumed during the raining season.”

“I started rearing layers for egg production but had to switch over to broiler production because the yearly egg glut was hitting hard on my profit margins,” he added.

Akinlolu’s case is similar to that of poultry farmers across the country, as most of them continue to suffer hugely from the yearly egg glut.

Nigeria is the largest producer of eggs in Africa with 10.3 billion eggs produced annually, data from the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) shows, but the nation is yet to fully take advantage of this situation by processing eggs into powdery forms.

“Each year, millions of tonnes of eggs are harvested in Nigeria but a good number of them go down the drains as wastages, due to the short shelf life and low demand for the product at a particular period farmers usually experience glut,” Francis Toromade, former group head, policy and strategy at Amo Group Farms, said.

“In Nigeria, there is low usage of eggs because the food and beverages industry in the country uses egg powder that is not being produced in the country, but imported,” Toromade said.

Nigeria’s inability to process its excess eggs into powder despite this glut is costing the country $1billion every year, Nigeria’s Poultry Association says.

This increases the pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves, money that could have been saved if the country processes its fresh eggs into powder.

“I suffered N500, 000 loss from last year’s egg glut,” Onyekachi Eze, a poultry farmer in Onitsha, Anambra State, said.

“Last year, the challenge for us farmers was double, as prices of feeds doubled and egg sales declined,” Eze said.

Egg powder is used in production of oil-based emulsions. It is also used in preparation of foods such as ice-cream, bread, cakes, biscuits, noodles, and doughnuts. It can likewise be rehydrated to make dishes such as scrambled eggs and omelettes.

“The country has been losing a lot of money due to our inability to process eggs into powder. It has really been a tough year for poultry farmers, yet they still have to struggle with the annual egg glut,” said Kabiru Ibrahim, former president, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), in a telephone conversation with BusinessDay.

“We need to start processing eggs into powder to help address the issue of egg glut in the country and also increase the shelf life of our eggs,” Ibrahim said.

Farmers lose a lot of their profits during the period of egg glut.

“There is low purchasing power for eggs in the country, especially in the Northern region, due to the economic downturn in the country. Nigerians are not consuming eggs like before and it has continued to create a glut in the market,” Dayo Gawati, managing director and chief executive officer, Fdot Farms in Ilorin, Kwara State said.

“The issue is difficult for us farmers because there is only one company in the country, as we speak, that processes fresh eggs into powder. Most of the industries import processed egg powder they use in production,” Gawati said.

Raw eggs are said to last about four weeks, while powdered eggs can last up to a year. The yoke, the whole eggs and the albumen can be processed into powder.

Eggs contain protein and are consumed in homes across the country, especially by the burgeoning middle-class. Eggs likewise serve as a cheap source of protein for young Nigerians between the ages of five and 40, which constitute over 60 percent of the country’s 198 million population.

High input cost, smuggling complicate matters

The high cost of key inputs such as poultry feeds and vaccines across the country has continued to frustrate farmers’, a development experts say may threaten the country’s livestock production and the diversification drive of the government.

The Nigerian poultry industry suffered a N200 million loss last year on account of rise of input prices such as maize and soybeans as well as declining sales in chickens and eggs.

Despite the price of maize, a key input, declining by 20 percent year-on-year, from N150,000 in March 2017 to N120,000 in March 2018, Nigeria poultry farmers eggs and chicken are still not competitive in the market.

Gumboro, a vaccine sells at N4,000 per 20 doses as against N1,000 sold in 2016. Lyfine is now sold for N48,000 as against N14,000 sold early last year, while Methionine goes for N64,000 as against N25,000 despite exchange rate stability.

The ban placed on some poultry products have not been effective and have made no real impact on actual foreign imports as the majority of these products continue to find their way into the country.

This has made smuggling poultry products, especially chicken and turkey, a big business for importers of these products.