The Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association is projecting at least a 15 per cent increase in poultry prices ahead of the Christmas festivities, citing rising feed costs and higher prices of imported production inputs.
The Association’s Chief Executive, Mohammed Ali, said increasing costs of maize, soya and other feed ingredients, coupled with rising freight charges, were placing additional financial pressure on poultry farmers.
Speaking to Joy Business during an outreach programme at schools in Dansoman to mark World Egg Day, Mr Ali cautioned consumers to expect price adjustments during the Christmas season.
“Maybe not less than 15 per cent; we must see some price change,” he said.
He explained that the poultry industry remained vulnerable to fluctuations in international markets because many ingredients used in animal feed were imported, exposing farmers to higher commodity prices and transportation costs.
Mr Ali called on the government to support local production of maize and soya to reduce dependence on imported feed ingredients and ease production costs.
“When we are able to have an abundance locally, the feed price will surely come down. But without them, we can’t do anything about poultry feed,” he added.
Farmers raise concerns over egg prices
Beyond the anticipated increase in poultry prices, the association is calling for stronger measures to address the price differences between farm-gate and retail markets, particularly in the sale of eggs.
Mr Ali described the gap between the prices farmers receive and those paid by consumers as excessive, alleging that some traders add as much as GH¢20 to the price of a crate of eggs.
He disclosed that farm-gate prices currently range between GH¢40 and GH¢45 per crate, arguing that retail prices should not exceed GH¢50.
“We don’t expect an egg to go beyond 50 cedis. Take or leave,” he stressed.
He urged the Ministry of Trade and Agribusiness to introduce measures to improve market discipline and address trading practices that contribute to high retail prices.
According to him, reducing the gap between farm-gate and retail prices would help make eggs more affordable while ensuring that poultry farmers benefit fairly from their production.
Association distributes over 100,000 eggs to schools
As part of its World Egg Day activities, the association visited five clusters of schools in the Dansoman area to educate pupils on the nutritional benefits of eggs.
Mr Ali said the initiative was intended to encourage children to incorporate eggs into their daily meals and develop healthy eating habits from an early age.
“Eggs have some special protein content for every child from zero to, say, eight that they need. And we want to inculcate this habit into their meals, for daily meals, consumption of eggs,” he said.
He disclosed that more than 100,000 eggs were distributed to schools during the exercise, emphasising the importance of nutrition education in promoting healthy childhood development.
Call for stronger support for poultry farmers
Mr Ali also called for an expansion of the Nkokor Nkitinkiti initiative to improve its implementation and deliver greater benefits to local poultry producers.
He argued that directing support towards larger-scale farmers could generate more substantial results, given the greater contribution their production volumes make to market supply and pricing.
He maintained that boosting local feed production, improving market practices and strengthening support for poultry farmers were essential to controlling production costs and making poultry products more affordable for consumers.
