News in brief: Catfish farmers in Nigeria have adjusted prices due to rising input costs and encourage all stakeholders to adhere to new prices.
Catfish farmers in Nigeria have announced price updates due to current economic realities, according to a local source.
The farmers, under the umbrella body of Catfish and Allied Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFFAN), described the price adjustment as inevitable given the fact that end-users rip off their sweat. They say the situation is compounded by the fact that they lack control over the market price of the produce.
President of the association, Dr. Momoh Mustapha, noted the price of inputs which had gone up by 300% in five years. He added that the situation was not sustainable because fish prices had remained stable within the period despite surging costs of ancillary services.
Furthermore, he revealed that the industry has suffered a lot from challenges that have affected its productivity. According to him, adjusting the prices became necessary after careful study and analysis of the cost of raising and producing fish across the country.
Justifying the price update, the associationâs president added that other tradesmen had upwardly reviewed their price list.
Mustapha recalled and lamented the loss of more than â¦50 billion to the industry in 2022 due to a natural disaster which destroyed over 40 million fishes across the country.
Farm gate price for fresh table-size fish, which weigh less than a kilogram, would now sell for N1,500 per kg. Meanwhile, bigger sized fresh catfishes would sell for N1800 per kg.
For fish seedlings, fingerlings measuring 3cm to 5cm in length and weighing 2 to 3 grammes, would now sell for â¦15 per fingerlings of purebred and â¦20 per fingerlings of hybrid. Juveniles of between 8cm to 12cm in length and weighing about 7 grammes to 10 grammes would now sell for â¦45 each.
As for the changes in prices for fingerlings, juveniles and others, the new price adjustments were made in the light of increase in production costs.
Dr. Momoh Mustapha asked all fish farmers in the country to abide with the new prices or face sanctions because the association has its sights on some underhand moves by bad actors looking to make gains at the expense of others. The CAFFAN president added that are those selling fishes at very ridiculous prices to eliminate small scale farmers and assume dominance.
For location adjustment, farmers can add â¦50 or â¦100 for the table-size fishes and â¦2 to â¦5 for seedlings. He encouraged fish farmers to work closely with state chapters of the association to protect their interests and not sell anything lesser than the reviewed prices.
A 2022 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), confirms that Nigeria, along with Egypt, experienced a decrease in fish production.
