Egg sellers blame transport costs for price hike

The Egg Sellers and Distributors Association of Nigeria, ESDAN, has attributed the current increase in egg prices to rising transportation and logistics costs.

The National President of ESDAN, Olaide Graham, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Lagos.

She said the increase in fuel prices had significantly raised the cost of moving eggs from farms to markets, forcing distributors to adjust prices.

A market survey by NAN shows that a crate of eggs currently sells between N5,700 and N6,000, depending on the size, compared to N5,000 to N5,400 earlier in the year.

Graham described eggs as one of the most affordable sources of protein but expressed concern that the recent price increase had made them less accessible to many Nigerians.

“Everybody needs protein, both young and old. Eggs remain one of the cheapest sources of protein, but they are becoming unaffordable to the average Nigerian due to rising prices,” she said.

She attributed the situation largely to increased fuel costs, noting that the price of petrol had risen by nearly 50 per cent, from about N800 per litre earlier in the year to between N1,200 and N1,300.

According to her, the higher transportation costs are transferred to consumers.

“The major driver of the increase is the cost of transporting eggs from the farm gate to the market. The additional logistics cost has been reflected in current prices,” she said.

Graham added that distributors now spend between N250 and N300 to transport a crate of eggs from Oyo State to Lagos State.

She explained that eggs are purchased from farmers between N5,200 and N5,300 per crate, leaving distributors with minimal margins after transportation costs.

“At the beginning of the year, we bought between N4,900 and N5,000 per crate. Now, with transport costs added, we barely break even,” she said.

She added that the association was making efforts to stabilise prices and ensure affordability for consumers.

NAN