It’s barely 6 months since the million-dollar quail farming business in Kenya begun. Everyone was rushing in and the craze took prices sky high with the tiny egg retailing for Ksh.100 and 2-week old chicks being sold at an all-time high of Ksh.500. As the excitement filled the air and a few early birds literally made millions within just a few weeks, critics were busy foretelling doom on the business and comparing it to pyramid schemes that rocked the country a few years ago.
At the time quail farming in Kenya was picking up with a great speed, someone who posted on Facebook that they were selling fertilized quail eggs or quail chicks would get over 30 interested people commenting while no one would respond to a post asking to buy such products. I run a Facebook group called Quail Farmers Kenya and something interesting is now taking shape; it’s the posts from interested buyers that now attract more comments than those from sellers, and most notably, the prices are coming down!
Were the critics right? Has doom come over our loved quail farming business?I love giving straight answers and mine in this case would be, “No, doom has not come over our million-dollar quail keeping business.” You needed not be a genius to tell that those hyped prices would soon come down. As a matter of fact, I had foreseen this downward trend of quail products prices and told the farmers that I met over the past few weeks as offered my consultancy services to target the consumer market. This is where the business will eventually settle since, logically, we cannot keep producing for the breeders.
So what’s next with the quail farming business in Kenya?
If you went into this business because you wanted to make quick cash, then I bet it is time for you to leave the field for those who want to make real profits. For those who can see the future, you can tell that this coming down of quail product prices is a good thing rather than a bad one. It signifies the growth of the business, a movement towards its stability. A time to forget about the “abnormal” profits and concentrate on clean business targeted at meeting the needs of consumers, of course at a good profit, has now come.
The good news…
The prices will soon be up again! Did you hear that right? Yes, the prices are currently going further down but they will soon be up again. As quickly as people got into this business for the money, so will they fall out for lack of passion to pursue the business. When this happens, the supply will go down. Keep in mind that the demand is on a constant upward trend as more and more consumers are getting to know about quail products and their health benefits. When the natural process of striking off those who had gotten into the venture to simply make quick cash is done, those with a passion for the business will remain and you can bet they will be few. That’s when a truly profitable and sustainable quail farming business will take shape in Kenya. Will you be part of that?
As always, you can email me on enthiga@gmail.com if you have any questions. I would be glad to be your guide into the millionaire’s club. All the best and let me leave you with a parting short; quail farming is a business with good profits, not a get-rich-quick scheme.
