In this seventh installment of our series, Sebastiane Ebatamehi from The African Exponent provides a detailed overview of Nigeria, the sixth-largest poultry producer in Africa as of 2025.
Nigeria stands as a key player in Africa’s poultry industry, producing approximately 1.5 million metric tons (mt) of chicken meat annually, complemented by a poultry population of around 180 million birds, according to the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).
Alongside its chicken production, Nigeria also yields approximately 15.8 billion eggs every year, boasting an annual industry turnover of USD 3.2 to 4 billion. This sector contributes around 25% to Nigeria’s agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Challenging Smuggling Trends
Despite its robust scale, Nigeria’s poultry industry grapples with a significant supply-demand imbalance. The country consumes an estimated 1.5 million mt of chicken meat annually but produces merely 454,000 mt, meeting less than one-third of its demand.
To fill this gap, a considerable volume of both imported and illegally smuggled poultry meat floods the market each year. The Feed Practitioners Association of Nigeria estimates that nearly 1 million mt of chicken are smuggled into the country annually. According to association president Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, poultry remains the most smuggled protein in Nigeria.
Strategies for Closing the Gap
Several challenges hinder Nigeria’s ability to bridge the supply-demand chasm, including rising feed costs, currency volatility, disease management, and regulatory barriers. Key feed ingredients, such as maize and soybeans, are often major cost drivers. Nigeria produces only a fraction of its requirements domestically, necessitating imports that expose producers to global price fluctuations and exchange rate risks.
Furthermore, outbreaks of avian influenza, coupled with inadequate infrastructure in cold chain logistics, processing, and transport, lead to higher mortality rates and increased spoilage.
The consequences of Nigeria’s poultry challenges hold significant implications for national food security and the broader agribusiness landscape within Africa. With Nigeria’s population exceeding 230 million and a trend towards rising incomes and urbanization, the demand for affordable protein is anticipated to surge.
Addressing the production shortfall would not only enhance nutrition but also diminish reliance on imports, fostering economic retention of value, job creation, local processing advancements, and a boost in exports.
In the next article, we will focus on Morocco’s poultry landscape.
