Africa’s rising $10 billion (Sh1.3 trillion) livestock import bill has exposed major policy and coordination failures across the continent, with experts warning that weak regulatory frameworks are undermining the growth of the region’s livestock sector.
Sector analysts say the continent continues to import billions of shillings worth of meat, dairy products, leather goods and other livestock commodities every year despite possessing one of the world’s largest animal resource bases.
The situation has triggered renewed calls for reforms aimed at strengthening regional markets and boosting local value addition.
Recent data shows Africa imported livestock and livestock products worth about $10.2 billion (Sh1.3 trillion) last year while exports reached only $3.8 billion (Sh490.2 billion), highlighting a widening trade deficit in a sector that should be a major economic driver.
Experts say the imbalance is not due to lack of production capacity but rather poor policy implementation and fragmented trade frameworks that limit intra-African livestock trade.
Speaking during a regional technical consultation in Naivasha, Kenya convened by the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, livestock trade expert Solomon Munyua said Africa is spending billions importing products it can produce locally.
“Africa as a region is richly endowed. It has the resources and industry to meet the demand instead of spending billions on imports,” Munyua said.
He added that the continent is also losing employment opportunities by importing processed livestock products despite having raw materials and technical capacity.
“We are importing products that could easily be produced locally if the right policies and value chains were in place,” he noted.
The meeting brought together more than 70 veterinary authorities, customs officials and private sector stakeholders from several African countries to examine barriers affecting regional livestock trade and explore solutions for integrating markets.
Analysts say the problem lies largely in fragmented regulatory systems, inconsistent sanitary and phytosanitary standards, and weak enforcement of existing trade agreements. These gaps make it easier for countries to import livestock products from overseas markets than to trade with neighbouring states.
The lack of harmonised rules has also forced many pastoralists in regions such as the Horn of Africa and the Sahel to rely on informal cross-border livestock trade corridors.
While these informal systems sustain livelihoods, they limit large-scale market integration and reduce the ability of governments to formalise and expand the livestock economy.
Another major challenge is the limited development of value-added industries within the livestock sector. For instance, many African countries export raw hides and skins but later import finished leather products such as shoes and upholstery at significantly higher prices.
Experts say this pattern traps the continent at the lowest level of the value chain while creating jobs and industrial growth elsewhere.
John Oppong-Otoo, coordinator for economics, marketing and trade at AU-IBAR, noted that the trade deficit persists even though Africa has a vast livestock population and a growing market for meat and dairy products.
According to him, the challenge lies in weak market linkages between livestock-producing regions and consumer markets across the continent.
“Africa has the animals, the institutions and the policies. The missing connection is markets,” Oppong-Otoo said adding that stronger regional trade systems would help unlock opportunities in the livestock sector.
“If we connect producers to regional markets and harmonise our standards, we can significantly reduce the dependence on imports,” he said.
Officials say efforts are underway to address these gaps through initiatives aimed at linking pastoralists to formal markets and harmonising trade rules across regional blocs.
These include frameworks governing cross-border livestock movement and sanitary standards designed to facilitate safer and more efficient trade.
Experts warn that unless policy coordination improves, Africa risks continuing to lose billions in potential revenue while remaining dependent on imports to meet rising demand for animal protein.
They argue that strengthening regional livestock value chains, investing in processing industries and aligning trade policies could help unlock the sector’s potential and reduce the continent’s costly reliance on imported livestock products.
