307
SPS-LMM activities, Ethiopia exported only 7917 MT of meat and 163,375 head of
livestock, earning a total of $45.8 million (SPS-LMM 2011b). The export of both
meat and live animals remained low and far below the potential for several years
because of inadequate feeding and conditioning systems and fragility of the performance due to weak SPS certification system which made the country susceptible to
disease-related trade bans. In addition, the trade relationship has been limited to
very few trading partners and importing countries. Meat export was limited mainly
to chilled shoat carcasses destined primarily to low-income guest workers in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
However, official export of live animals represented a small fraction of the total
number of live animals exported as a very large number of cattle, sheep, goats, and
camels are exported through informal cross-border trade. For instance, according to
Desta et al. (2011), the gross value added in the informal cross-border livestock
trade on Berbera and Bosasso marketing corridors in the Somali region of Ethiopia
was estimated to be as high as 144 million USD. Livestock are also informally
exported through Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, and Eritrea. These unofficial exports contribute to the welfare of Ethiopians by financing the importation of a wide range of
consumer goods, including necessities such as clothing and staple food items.
GebreMariam et al. (2013) indicated that informal cross-border trade in Ethiopia is
about four times the volume of its formal exports. Thus, excluding informal exports,
official figures often undervalue the real contribution of livestock to the national
economy. The private sector operators in the live animal and meat export business
often suffer from the insufficient and inconsistent supply of price competitive,
export quality meat and live animals. In addition, they have limited knowledge of
market preferences of type and quality of meat products. Another persistent problem experienced by the Ethiopian meat and live animal exporters is lack of established, reliable, and profitable contracts with traders from the importing countries.
5.2 Activities Accomplished by the SPS-LMM Program
The SPS-LMM activities were designed to address five principal constraints limiting the sustainable expansion of meat and livestock export from Ethiopia. These
constraints include import restrictions based on SPS requirements imposed by
importing countries; insufficient and inconsistent supply of price competitive,
export quality meat and livestock; lack of capacity for cattle slaughter and for cold
chain processing and packaging export quality beef products; lack of capability for
cost-effective, cold chain transport of meat products by road and sea for delivery to
MENA and other international markets; limited knowledge of market preferences
for type and quality of meat products; and lack of established and profitable contracts with meat importers in international markets (SPS-LMM 2011a).
The activities of the Program were organized under two broad objectives, viz.,
the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and Livestock and Meat Marketing
(LMM) objectives. The activities carried out under the SPS objective focused on
Stratified Livestock Production and Live Animal and Meat Export from Ethiopia…
SPS-LMM activities, Ethiopia exported only 7917 MT of meat and 163,375 head of
livestock, earning a total of $45.8 million (SPS-LMM 2011b). The export of both
meat and live animals remained low and far below the potential for several years
because of inadequate feeding and conditioning systems and fragility of the performance due to weak SPS certification system which made the country susceptible to
disease-related trade bans. In addition, the trade relationship has been limited to
very few trading partners and importing countries. Meat export was limited mainly
to chilled shoat carcasses destined primarily to low-income guest workers in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
However, official export of live animals represented a small fraction of the total
number of live animals exported as a very large number of cattle, sheep, goats, and
camels are exported through informal cross-border trade. For instance, according to
Desta et al. (2011), the gross value added in the informal cross-border livestock
trade on Berbera and Bosasso marketing corridors in the Somali region of Ethiopia
was estimated to be as high as 144 million USD. Livestock are also informally
exported through Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, and Eritrea. These unofficial exports contribute to the welfare of Ethiopians by financing the importation of a wide range of
consumer goods, including necessities such as clothing and staple food items.
GebreMariam et al. (2013) indicated that informal cross-border trade in Ethiopia is
about four times the volume of its formal exports. Thus, excluding informal exports,
official figures often undervalue the real contribution of livestock to the national
economy. The private sector operators in the live animal and meat export business
often suffer from the insufficient and inconsistent supply of price competitive,
export quality meat and live animals. In addition, they have limited knowledge of
market preferences of type and quality of meat products. Another persistent problem experienced by the Ethiopian meat and live animal exporters is lack of established, reliable, and profitable contracts with traders from the importing countries.
5.2 Activities Accomplished by the SPS-LMM Program
The SPS-LMM activities were designed to address five principal constraints limiting the sustainable expansion of meat and livestock export from Ethiopia. These
constraints include import restrictions based on SPS requirements imposed by
importing countries; insufficient and inconsistent supply of price competitive,
export quality meat and livestock; lack of capacity for cattle slaughter and for cold
chain processing and packaging export quality beef products; lack of capability for
cost-effective, cold chain transport of meat products by road and sea for delivery to
MENA and other international markets; limited knowledge of market preferences
for type and quality of meat products; and lack of established and profitable contracts with meat importers in international markets (SPS-LMM 2011a).
The activities of the Program were organized under two broad objectives, viz.,
the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and Livestock and Meat Marketing
(LMM) objectives. The activities carried out under the SPS objective focused on
Stratified Livestock Production and Live Animal and Meat Export from Ethiopia…