Record livestock exports for Somalia
30/04/2015
Last year Somalia exported 4.6 million goats and sheep, 340,000 head of cattle and 77,000 camels, with a combined estimated value of $360 million. Buyers were mainly in the Gulf region, with companies in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates among those who have taken advantage of what the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called “Somalia’s thriving livestock scene”.
This represents a big turnaround because imports of Somali livestock were were subject to a lengthy ban in many countries following an outbreak of Rift Valley fever in 2007.
According to the FAO, livestock is the mainstay of the Somali economy, contributing at least 40% of its gross domestic product, creating jobs and giving local people access to dairy products and meat.
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