Ethiopia is seeking to almost double exports of meat and meat products.
The country is aiming to export $141 million, or 38 000 tons, of meat and meat products this fiscal year, according to the Livestock Development Institute in the country.
The Institute’s executive director, Asrat Tera, told the Ethiopian Press Agency that the country was focused on boosting exports by improving quality and volumes of animal products as well as expanding export markets.
Ethiopia was ranked first in Africa and fifth in the world in terms of livestock resources, he said. However, added Tera, the country was not generating the income it deserved due to various challenges like a poor marketing and distribution system as well as a lack of coordination among abattoirs.
He mentioned that the country's revenue from the sector was very low as it had earned only $1.1 billion from the sector in the past 14 years.
“The country has 12 large slaughterhouses that can export more than 200 000 tons of meat annually if they operate at full capacity. However, these slaughterhouses are only processing and exporting 20 000 tons of meat per year which is 10% of their capacity,” he noted.
Accordingly, the Institute is striving to increase export earnings by taking measures to boost the quality and volume of animal products as well as expanding its trading markets internationally.
Ethiopia has launched the Yelemat Tirufat initiative, a four-year development programme designed to boost animal products, which Tera believes will also be an important means of increasing the production of the livestock sector as it is a complete package to develop the industry.
The nation is working hard to expand market access to trade its animal products at the right price, and to this end Tera said that agreements had been signed with China and other Asian countries this year to import Ethiopia's animal products.
