High costs of feeds and the lingering ban on fish exports to the United States are major headwinds facing fish farmers in Nigeria and dampening the growth of the sector.
Nigeria has recorded tremendous growth in its fish production in recent years as output has increased from less than 500,000 metric tonnes (MT) in 2011 to 1.1 million MT in 2017, data from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture states. The most recent data from the World Bank on the country’s fish production shows that the 2017 figure has declined marginally to 1.04 million MT in 2020.
However, since the US enforced a ban on Nigeria’s exports in March 2018 over its failure to provide the Self Reporting Tool (SRT) requirement for smoked catfish (Siluriformes), the momentum gained in the industry has slowed.
“Till now, we can’t export, and of course it has effects,” said Momoh Mustapha, national president of Catfish and Allied Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria.
“When we have where to push or sell our fish and when we have quick off-takers, a lot of people in the industry will be encouraged to increase production,” he said.
He urged the government to address the issue of the ban, saying it has lingered for too long. “That ban on catfish export has to be lifted for our local industry to tap export opportunities.”
Locally, demand for farmed fish has also been on the decline with farmers complaining of low patronage that is further compounded by the country’s recent naira crunch, experts say.
“People are not buying like before because of the high price. They would rather go for imported fishes which are relatively cheaper,” Adeolu Onifade, a small-scale catfish farmer around Agbado/Ijaiye area of Lagos, told BusinessDay.
Fish feeds, which account for up to 70 percent of production cost, according to the CAFFAN, have increased by over 50 percent since last year and tripled farmers’ production costs.

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Source: Business Day

https://businessday.ng/agriculture/article/high-feed-costs-export-ban-rattle-nigerian-fish-farmers/