Poultry & Livestock Expo Kicks-off
Ethiopia garnered USD121 million from the export of 22,689 tons of meat and meat products during the 2021/22 fiscal year.
The 11th edition of ETHIOPEX and 7th session of ALEC tandemly kicked off at Ethiopian Skylight and will continue until 29 October 2022. Over 4,000 visitors, traders, and stakeholders from Ethiopia and neighboring countries are expected to visit the event organized by Prana Events and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and SNV Netherlands Development Organization.
Over 70 exhibiting companies from 11 countries are involved in the show—a 50Pct increase in exhibitor numbers and an 83Pct increase in participating countries from the preceding year’s event.
The livestock sector is an integral and central part of agriculture and according to FAO, livestock accounts for nearly 40Pct of total agricultural output in the developed world and 20Pct in developing countries such as Ethiopia.
With 42.9 million sheep, 52.5 million goat, 70.2 million cattle, and 8.1 million camels, Ethiopia is Africa’s richest country in this regard.
However, high cost of feed and land shortage, coupled with feed quality and availability, as well as inadequate veterinary extension services, are major constraints on the sector. Still, the government plans to raise production to 11.8 billion liters of dairy, 1.7 million tons of meat, 5.5 billion eggs, and 106,000 tons of chicken meat in its 10-year development plan.