Development Economist and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy, (IERPP), Dr Kwasi Nyame-Baafi, has blamed the NDC government over the current egg glut being experienced by local poultry farmers. <\/p>\n
In a Facebook post, the development economist emphasized that the government\u2019s policy of artificially strengthening the Ghanaian currency, the Cedi against the US Dollar has played a role for what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n
He indicated that imports have been made cheap by the artificial appreciation of the Cedi against the Dollar. <\/p>\n
This, he said, has resulted in more and cheaper imports of eggs into the country, making it impossible for local producers of eggs to compete with these cheap imported ones. <\/p>\n
\u201cConsequences of an artificial appreciation of the cedi? When you make imports artificially cheap while simultaneously claiming to boost local production, you create a fundamental policy contradiction.” <\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot promote domestic manufacturing, agriculture, or value addition when your currency policy makes imported goods far cheaper than locally produced alternatives. It weakens the very industries you claim to support\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
The Bono Poultry Farmers Association has raised alarm over what it describes as one of the most severe egg gluts the country has witnessed in recent years, cautioning that the situation is pushing many producers to the brink of collapse. <\/p>\n
Farmers say they are stranded with large volumes of unsold eggs as cheaper imports from C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire undercut local prices and distort demand.<\/p>\n
In an interview, the association\u2019s secretary, Johnson Yeboah, said the crisis has hit particularly hard in the Bono Region, a long-standing center of commercial poultry production. <\/p>\n
He warned that the market downturn is leaving many farmers with no choice but to dispose of their produce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are throwing away eggs because the market is slow. Farmers are running at a loss, and many cannot break even. It\u2019s not because we are overproducing, but because the system is not managed and imported eggs are cheaper due to the exchange rate,\u201d Yeboah said.<\/p>\n
He said that the cheaper Dollar has made it easier for people to import eggs from China and other countries outside the continent. <\/p>\n
He further explained that recent movements in the cedi\u2013CFA exchange rate have made Ivorian eggs significantly cheaper on the Ghanaian market. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the exchange rate shifts, eggs from C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire become cheaper. So, traders prefer importing, and that affects our local market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The poultry sector in Bono remains a major employer, supporting livelihoods across hatcheries, feed production, transportation and retail. <\/p>\n
However, Yeboah argued that poor coordination between policymakers and the private sector is weakening an industry with substantial growth potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoultry can create huge employment. A farmer with just 1,000 can employ more than one person. But successive governments have failed to engage with us to understand our challenges,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n