1.2 million metric tonnes of frozen chicken valued at N660,000 billion was imported into Nigeria in 2014.
The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) on Wednesday, June 24 revealed that 1.2 million metric tonnes(MT) of frozen chicken valued at N660,000 billion was imported into Nigeria in 2014.
According to the association, the figure was four times higher than what was produced locally, and exceeding the current industry capacity.
The National President of PAN, Dr. Ayo Oduntan, gave the revelation at a workshop in Abuja, on ‘The Health and Economic Implications of Smuggled Poultry Products on Nigeria Economy,’ stressing that Nigeria presently consumes 1.5 million MT of frozen chicken annually.
“As at 2014, locally produced chicken was estimated at 300,000MT, a capacity utilisation of 46 per cent in an industry that currently boasts of a 650,000MT installed capacity. . In the same year, 1.2 million MT of frozen chicken, valued at N660 billion (equivalent to $2.75 billion) was imported”, Oduntan said.
He also said the risks inherent in consumption of products that are not thoroughly scrutinised are enormous, noting that the efforts of local producers however, continue to face the daunting obstacles posed by the activities of smugglers of poultry meat into the Nigerian market.
Oduntan explained that while locally farmed poultry meats are sold without preservation, the smuggled ones are preserved with hazardous chemicals, adding that formalin load in all smuggled poultry products ranges from 42.9 to 63.3ml/kg.