Nsukka residents groan as price of egg soars
By Hilary Akalugwu
Some residents of Nsukka, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State have lamented the high cost of eggs, making it beyond their reach.
The residents expressed their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Nsukka while reacting to the present market price of a crate of egg that goes for N5,000.
Mrs Stella Nduka, a housewife said for some time now her children have not been able to eat egg because of its high cost.
“The present situation where one egg sells for N200 and a crate of egg sells at N5,000 is worrisome.
“Before, I usually used egg to cook noodles for my children but now I can’t afford it because of its high cost.
“My customer in Ogige Market Nsukka says the fault is not from the sellers as they sell according to how they buy from the poultry farms.
“My customer says presently he buys a crate at N4,500 from the poultry farms and sells a crate at N5,000,”she said.
Mr Jude Ugwuoke, who has a fast food joint at Aku Road, Nsukka decried the high cost of egg, which he said had adversely affected his business.
“Before, I used to prepare one packet of noodles with two eggs for my customers at N1,200 but because of the high cost of eggs it is now N1,500.
“I am losing many customers because my customers are complaining that the N1,500 is too much as only few now patronise me.
“Government should intervene before my business closes, by January this year, the cost of an egg crate was between N2000 and N2,200, ” he said.
Mrs Juliet Onah, who sells eggs together with other food items in Ogige market Nsukka food section, said the sellers should not be blamed on the present hike on egg price as they sell according to how they bought the commodity .
“I buy eggs from poultry farms, I bought these eggs on Tuesday this week and I bought a crate at the price of N4,500 and resold at N5,000.
“You can see my gain is only N500 in spite of the transport I paid to go buy the eggs.
“In January this year, we sold an egg crate at N2,000 while the retailers sold one egg at N100. I don’t understand the type of inflation in this country,” she said.
Mr Ernest Ugwu a poultry farmer attributed the high price of eggs to the high prices of chicken feeds.
Ugwu said that the only thing that would bring down the price of eggs was for the government to subsidise the ingredients used in producing feed.
“If a poultry farmer buys feed at a high price to grow the chickens that lay the eggs, he/she will sell the eggs to cover the production cost as well as make a little gain that will enable him/her to remain in business.
“No businessman or woman in the world will like to record losses rather than to make profit so as to remain in business, ” Ugwu said.
Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani
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