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· Ethiopia has earned US$72 million from export of meat and dairy products in the fiscal year that ended on July
· The local demand for meat and dairy products also spiked
· A kilogram of beef exported to a Middle Eastern country fetches only US$4, whereas the local price goes up to US$10 a kilogram
Ethiopia has earned US$72 million from export of meat and dairy products in the fiscal year that ended on July 7.
According the data supplied by Haile-Selassie Weres, Director-General of the Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Industry Development Institute, the majority of the earning has been from the export of beef, goat and sheep meat. Animal products and byproducts such as milk, honey, wax, and fish were also a part of the export basket. The meat and dairy products were mostly exported to Dubai and Saudi Arabia, where the demand for meat vaulted to 100 tons a day. There was also demand from other countries, which could not be supplied because of the disruptions of the cargo flights from Ethiopia due to Covid-19.
The local demand for meat and dairy products also spiked. Because of that a calibrated approach has to be taken for export of meat and poultry items. Illegal export of live animals through the porous borders is a major challenge the country has to face.
A kilogram of beef exported to a Middle Eastern country fetches only US$4, whereas the local price goes up to US$10 a kilogram. So, it is lucrative for meat firms to target the local market to realize more revenue. To address the mismatch between demand and supply of meat items, the Ethiopian government is setting up five quarantines around the borders to ensure an adequate supply of live animals that fulfill the required standard for export and local market. People are encouraged to have ranches to breed more animals. Incidentally, Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa.
