…Nigerians go for frozen ones
Many Nigerians opted for frozen hen for Christmas and New 12 months celebrations as the price of reside ones went via the roof.
Ore Ayomide, a Lagos state civil servant, mentioned she had to purchase frozen hen as a result of it was cheaper than reside ones. “Think about we purchased two reside chickens for New 12 months and Christmas, I might have spent N30,000 as in opposition to N21,000 for frozen chickens.”
Ayomide, a mom of three, mentioned she needed to purchase reside hen for Christmas and it was priced at N15,000. “I finally obtained three kilos of frozen hen for N10,500 and it’s greater than the amount I’ll get from a hen.”
She mentioned it’s the primary festive season in years her household didn’t get to do the custom of killing hen. “We had so many guests round; so frozen meals was a greater possibility value and quantity-wise.”
BusinessDay findings present that the worth of a reside hen ranged from N10,000 to N15,000 in some markets in Lagos.
Fani Davids, a small poultry farmer, mentioned chickens have been dearer in the course of the festive season due to the rise in the price of feeding them. “A 25kg bag of layer marsh now sells for N15,000, up from N8,000 in 2022.”
Feed constitutes a piece of the price of manufacturing for poultry farmers and any hike within the costs of maize and soybean will push up farmers’ manufacturing prices.
The nation’s livestock subsector, which is dominated by poultry, contracted by 30.57 p.c within the first quarter of 2023 as in opposition to 5.55 p.c within the corresponding quarter in 2022.
The nation depends on imports for its soybean and micro substances – vaccines and medicines for birds, and their costs have jumped following the current devaluation of the naira.
Olamide Racheal, a Lagos-based accountant, mentioned: “In my home, we didn’t kill hen for the festive season because of the worth; reasonably my father shared a goat with a buddy. We obtained extra worth for our cash from the goat.
“January is normally an extended month; it’s crucial for us to make smart monetary choices in order to have sufficient for the month.”
Meals inflation, which constitutes 50 p.c of the inflation charge, rose to 32.80 p.c in November from 31.52 p.c.
The common worth of a 10kg carton of frozen hen elevated by 36.1 p.c to N32,000 from N23,500 in December final 12 months, whereas a kilo goes for N3,400 as in opposition to N2,400 in the identical interval final 12 months.
Chickens aren’t the one poultry affected by the hike in worth.
Joshua Kayode, a turkey farmer in Lagos, instructed BusinessDay that the worth of turkey feed additionally doubled.
“Turkey was offered for N35,000-N60,000 final 12 months. You will get it for a similar worth however it will likely be underweight. To get a good-sized turkey, you’ll spend something from N70,000 to N80,000,” he mentioned.
