Ivorian poultry industry shrinks as rising feed costs impacts broiler and egg productions: USDA report

COTE D’IVOIRE – Broiler and egg production in Cote d’Ivoire plummeted in 2022 due to rising cost of feed, a new report by the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revealed.

According to the report, the country’s broiler production for 2022 was 42,065 tonnes, a 10% decrease from the 46.795 tonnes recorded in 2021.

This decline was mainly attributed to the rise in the cost of feed particularly maize which can be directly associated with low corn harvests in the West African nation.

An increase in production costs, specifically the cost of fertilizer, affected corn production by 30% over the last three years leading to the unavailability of maize as animal feed, the report highlighted.

Broiler production has been on an upward trajectory since 2009 with a CAGR of 13%, although, in the last three years, a decline has been observed on account of the increase in the prevalence of Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza (HPAI) in the country.

More recent factors that led to this dramatic decrease in poultry production are the impacts of COVID-19 and the Russia and Ukraine war which led to increased operational costs.

Layer chicken production plunges 10%

The production of layer chicken is also reported to have decreased by 10% from 5,882 tonnes produced in 2021 to 5190 tonnes in 2022 due to the focus on broiler farms than layer farming in the country.

Cote d’Ivoire has about 2200 poultry farms, 1500 of which are broiler farms and the remaining 700 are for layers.

According to the FAS post in Ghana, the disparity is due to the lower capital requirements to invest and operate broiler farms when compared to layer farms.

From 2016, the annual egg production rate increased by 3.7%, and from 2019 to 2020 a 16% increase was also recorded, however, the rise in input costs and poultry feed costs led to the decline in egg production.

Consequently, egg production in the country has also decreased by 15% from the estimated 1.333 billion units produced in 2020 to 1.133 billion units in 2021.

Consumption rate

As for consumption, the poultry meat consumption of Cote d’Ivoire is anticipated to remain steady at 2.65 kg per capita per year in 2022 unchanged from 2021.

The report estimates an overall increase in demand for chicken with the rise of the Ivorian middle-class population.

Over the last 12 years, egg consumption has increased by 67% reaching a per capita consumption of 52 eggs per year in 2020. It is also expected to increase correspondently with chicken consumption.

Since the domestic supply of chicken in Cote d’Ivoire almost fulfils the demand, the country does not rely on imports.

In the year 2022 chicken imports were recorded at 985 tonnes, a 21% decrease from the 1211 tonnes imported in 2021 Imports were from Poland, France, Netherlands, Spain and Germany.

The poultry industry is mainly fueled by backyard and commercial production systems with 60% of production coming from the backyard level.

However, commercial production is estimated to gradually grow due to the projected increase in demand.

Government involvement in the sector

The government in collaboration with the private sector put in place some policies to help mitigate the challenges, and discuss the under-exploited potential and opportunities in the poultry sector.

The Ministry of Animal and Fisheries Resources (MIRAH) under which the poultry sector operates, drew up a strategic plan (PSRA) to revive and establish modern poultry farming in the country.

A program also called d’Appui a la production Avicle (PAPAN) was also implemented between 2012 and 2021.

During the implementation of the programme, the sector earned over US$400 millionl, according to the FAS report.

The county’s vision is to increase the local supply of poultry and eggs to 200,00 tonnes and 3.2 billion units by 2030.

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