ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia has planned to generate some 141 million USD from the export of move 38,000 tons of meat and meat products this Ethiopian fiscal year, Livestock Development Institute disclosed.
The Institute Executive Director Asrat Tera(PhD) told the Ethiopian Press Agency(EPA) that the country is
working hard to boost export earnings through increasing quality and volume of animal products as well as expanding market access.
Ethiopia ranks first in Africa and fifth in the world in terms of livestock resources, however, Asrat said the country is not generating the income it deserves from due to various challenges like poor market system and lack of coordination among abattoirs.
He mentioned that the country’s revenue from the sector is very low as it earned only 1.1 billion USD from the sector in the past 14 years.
The country has 12 large slaughter houses that can export more than 200,000 tons of meat annually if the operate at full capacity. However, these slaughterhouses are only processing and exporting 20,000 tons meat per year which is10 percent of their capacity, he noted.
Accordingly, the institute is striving to increase export earnings by taking measures to boost the quality and volume animal products as well as market expansion.
The institute in collaborating with other stakeholders has been undertaking a fruitful activities including the preparation of different legal frameworks and launching of various initiatives, as to the Executive Director.
Yelemat Tirufat initiative, a four-year development programme designed to boost animal products, is also an important means to increasing the production of the livestock sector as it has a complete package to develop the industry.
Moreover, the nation is working hard to expand market access that trade its animal products with the right price. In this regard, Asrat expressed that agreements have been signed with China and other Asian countries this year to import Ethiopia’s animal products.