Pages: (16-36 )
Abstract
Egg and meat production are the two major divisions of poultry production, although other divisions exists such as chick production, point of lay production, feed production, poultry tools and equipment production in addition to poultry processing and marketing. Poultry is heavily dependent on grains and other feed ingredients frequently used by man. They therefore compete directly with man for feeds but grain production in Nigeria is far less than demand. The cost of feed per unit output is significantly higher for poultry, this calls for reduction of feed cost and improved credit access to enhance the purchase of feeds and increase the flock size.
Secondary data collected was used to explain the rising effect of feed cost on the prices of eggs. Data was collected on the prices of layer’s mash and some major feed materials such as maize and soya bean meal for the past thirty years (1991 - 2020). The prices of egg was collected for the same period (1991 - 2020). The use of time series data for analysis demands the investigation of presence of unit root in the data. This is to ensure that the variables used in the regressions are not subject to spurious regression. For this reason, unit root test was carried on the variables.
Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to separates the long-run equilibrium (or ‘cointegrating’) relationship between price of egg and price of feed.
A unit increase in feed price will lead to 0.359 unit increase in egg price. that in the long run as the price of feed increases, the price of egg will also increase. This could be due to the impact of high cost of inputs such as maize and soybean meal which are the two major feed materials which over been on the increase over the period under consideration.
price has negative and significant effect in cost of egg production, thereby increasing the price of egg and making it less available to the Nigeria populace.
Keywords: Price of Feed; Price of Egg; Time Series; and VECM,