Poultry collapsing as prices of inputs go up over 200%, prices of eggs increase by 30% – Poultry farmers
“The 50 kg bag of maize that was sold at ¢55 in 2020 now sells at ¢180, Soya has increased from ¢160 to ¢305 and wheat brand has also rocketed from ¢20 to ¢53. This has affected poultry seriously and I can tell you the industry is collapsing”
The Chairman for National Association of Poultry Farmers, Victor Oppong Adjei has described the rampant increase in the cost of inputs as unprecedented and strangling the poultry industry in Ghana.
He revealed to Alfred Ocansey on 3FM’s Sunrise show that 35 out of 42 poultry farms in the Atwima District of the Ashanti Region have stopped operations all because of lack of basic inputs such as maize and soya.
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“The poultry industry in Ghana is collapsing” he complained.
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“The 50 kg bag of maize that was sold at ¢55 in 2020 now sells at ¢180, Soya has increased from ¢160 to ¢305 and wheat brand has also rocketed from ¢20 to ¢53. This has affected poultry seriously and I can tell you the industry is collapsing” Oppong Adjei stressed.
This astronomical increase he noted started in 2020 and is worried there is no sign that the prices will come down making the situation critical for the poultry industry.
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“Currently what we are experiencing in Ghana is that prices of inputs keep on rocketing and is unprecedented in the history of the country and it is affecting the industry. Most are getting out of business, many of the farmers are reducing their stocks; we have a farmer in Dormaa who has a capacity of three hundred thousand birds but at the moment has only fifty thousand birds now” he disclosed.
Mr Adjei further indicated that as a result of the hike in prices of inputs, their only choice was to engage the egg sellers to increase their prices accordingly since farmers have in the past months struggled to even meet head cost.
A crate of small size eggs now sells at GHS 30 instead of GHS 23 whereas the price for a crate of ‘unsorted eggs’ has increased from GHS 25 to GHS 32 at farm gate.
The poultry farmers want the government to have a relook at its flagship program, Planting for Food and Jobs, and also consider increasing its fertilizer subsidies policy to help farmers grow more maize to feed the industry.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana
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