Meat and Live Animal Export in Ethiopia: Status, Challenges and Opportunities

Kefyalew Alemayehu¹ and Tarekegn Ayalew²

¹Bahir Dar University, Department of Animal Production and Technology, P.O. Box 21 45, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

²Bahir Dar University, Department of Disaster Risk Management, P.O. Box 79, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Corresponding author Email: kefyale@gmail.com

Accepted 10 October 2012

Abstract

Ethiopia has one of the largest livestock populations in Africa. Due to lack of livestock market structure, performance, prices are poor and inadequate for designing policies and marketing system, the sector has remained stagnant. Despite fluctuations over years, the exports of meat (16,877 tonnes) and live animals (472,041 head) have significantly increased in 2010 -2011 Ethiopian fiscal year, recording a 69 % increment from the previous years. Live animal exports contributed 70% of the earnings while 30% was obtained from meat exports. However, lack of exporting routes and ports, illegal live animal trade, shortage of live animals and lack of appropriate breeding programs are some of the main challenges faced the sector. The presence of large livestock population with diverse and adaptable genotypes, and diverse agro-ecologies for production of different types of livestock; the expansion of agro-industries and the increase of by-product feedstuffs allowing for enhanced productivity; proximity to Middle East countries; high demand for meat and live animals in including the domestic market are some of the opportunities that the sectors have. Therefore, the country would have been benefited more from the sector if the aforementioned challenges have been overcome.

Keywords: Breeding programs, Illegal market, policies, routes.