December 3, 2020

 

Nigerian poultry association calls for suspension of maize and soybean exports

 

 

The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has called on the federal government to immediately stop the export of soybean, soymeal and maize.

 

PAN also called for the immediate imports of soybean and maize as a stop gap measure to mitigate what they described as impending doom in the Nigerian poultry industry.

 

At a media briefing, PAN president Ezekiel Ibrahim said that the government should secure the country from criminal elements to support serious farming, and encourage commercial production of maize and soybean with proven technology and farming practices.

 

The group noted that the poultry industry had suffered devastating losses due to the restriction of movement of goods and services amid the spread of COVID-19, and the lockdown that followed.

 

The association said it lost billions of naira in sales of eggs and chicken, resulting in the closure of many small and medium poultry farms.

 

PAN said the current situation increased the price of maize from N95,000 (US$251.779) per tonne to N165,000 (US$437.3) per tonne.

 

Ibrahim pointed out that government support, which released 5,000 tonnes of maize at a subsidised rate to reduce or stabilise prices during the harvest, has failed as maize prices further increased between N145,000 (US$384.317) to N160,000 (US$424.074) in November compared to N85,000 (US$225.289) per tonne in November 2019.

 

According to Ibrahim, the poor security and climate change, among other militating factors affecting production, had resulted in the scarcity and near absence of soybean.

 

Ibrahim said, unless the Nigerian government makes an urgent intervention, the soybean industry might be forced to shut down completely by January 2021.

 

The association said the current situation has threatened five to 10 million jobs especially in the urban and rural areas, and led to divestment within the poultry sector due to a lack of investor confidence.

 

Among other things, PAN called for a state of emergency in the soybean sector as well as organising a national conference on poultry production in Nigeria.

 

 - This Day Live