The National Fish Association of Nigeria (NFAN) has urged the Federal Government to address factors driving up fish prices, particularly the high cost of foreign exchange, while supporting local production to bridge the country’s supply gap.
NFAN President, Dr Ladan Aliyu, made the call at the inauguration of the new executive committee of One Fish One Voice in Abuja, where he highlighted the growing pressure of rising food prices on consumers.
Aliyu said locally produced fish remained cheaper than imported varieties, but the high cost of foreign exchange had continued to make imported fish more expensive in the Nigerian market.
“Fish farming in the country is quite cheaper compared to the imported ones like Titus fish and others; we should understand that Nigerians buy dollars the way they buy petroleum, which is why the price is at the rooftop,” he said.
He added that the association planned to engage fish marketers to explore ways of reducing prices for consumers.
Aliyu said Nigeria required about 300,000 metric tonnes of fish to meet domestic demand but currently produced less than a quarter of that requirement, leaving a significant supply deficit.
“There are lots of gaps to cover, a lot is needed to bring down the price of this commodity. We are appealing to the government to work with us to achieve this feat,” he said.
The NFAN president also pointed to the rising cost of meat, noting that the price of a cow had reached almost or more than N2 million, further underscoring the need to make fish more affordable and accessible to consumers.
The Deputy President of NFAN, Adewale Adewu, also called for government intervention, saying the rising cost of fish reflected broader changes in global food prices.
Adewu said the One Fish One Voice initiative was established to strengthen the fish farming sector by promoting knowledge-sharing, collaboration and access to solutions across different areas of the industry.
He added that the initiative would support fish farmers through financial and other forms of assistance, while providing a platform for farmers from different regions to exchange ideas and access reliable information.
The association said stronger collaboration between government, fish farmers, marketers and other stakeholders would be critical to expanding domestic production and narrowing Nigeria’s fish supply deficit.
