Private Sectors Meeting Of IGAD Exporting And MENA Importing Countries Conducted To Strengthen Collaboration For Enhanced Livestock And Meat Trade

Business
March 24, 2022

March 17, 2022 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) : IGAD region is rich in livestock resources. It exports about 50% and less than 10% of live animals and meat respectively to Middle East and North African (MENA) countries’ annual demand. This shows there is a big potential to increase market share if appropriate measures are taken. One of the major challenges is inadequate information flow and limited transparency regarding sanitary measures between the exporting and importing countries. As a remedy, IGAD Center for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) in collaboration with FAO established an inter-regional technical committee of Chief Veterinary Officers of IGAD and MENA countries to frequently discuss and review the impediments to exports and propose solutions. The 4th inter-regional platform recommended to bring together the exporters and importers to help improve comminication and thereby enhance trust and transparency and trade among the two regions. As a follow up ICPALD/IGAD organized the private sectors meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 17th March 2022.

The workshop was officially opened by Mr Abebaw Tadesse ; the Secretary General of the Ethiopian Meat Producers and exporters association. Dr. Ameha Sebsibe representing Director of ICPALD/IGAD, and Dr. Ricarda reprsenting FAO Sub-regional Coordinator made welcome remarks. Participants were exporters and importers from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kenya, Somalia, Sudan; Djibouti and Ethiopia.

The meeting reviewed the presentations; discussed and recommneded the following for actions by the concerned bodies and agreed to monitor the actions.

Disease control and eradication efforts by export countries; IGAD, FAO and AU-IBAR should be strengthened and continued
Making collaboration with IGAD countries to address illegal trade through formalization of trade; among others
Address the stringent SPS requirement through collaboration, capacity building and coordination in the IGAD member states.
Discuss and coordinate on how to solve the illegal money transaction throughout the member countries.
IGAD country should work on Pasture and forage and water development to solve the occurrence of recurrent drought and enhance marketable supply throughout the year
Enhance allocation of more resources for value addition and processing for increased meat export including the use of PPP
Livestock exports represent an important and significant source of foreign exchange and a labor market in IGAD countries; hence the exporters of IGAD and or with importers shall invest on commercialization;
The Governments of exporting countries independently or in collaboration with IGAD shall work on organizing trade mission with the relevant stakeholders to widen the market destinations
The meat and live animal associations in IGAD member states and other stakeholders should increase their capacity to negotiate for a fair live animal and meat price in the MENA market.
IGAD in collaboration with exporting and importing countries should organize inter regional investment conference to attract new investment and expand the existing ones; one key commodity that need special attention is feed production and marketing and produce marketable supply
Capacity building shall consider Advocacy, lobbying, promotion; networking, and Industry promotion for successful export market in both live and meat export.
ICPLAD to dedicate a page in its web site to post some relevant materials including import requirements and any other relevant information for MENA/IGAD and beyond.
ICPLAD to create a Whats-app group IGAD-MENA platform to facilitate information exchange.
The participants requested IGAD to continue engaging the exporters and importers and sustain such inter-regional platform as it brings opportunities for traders to interact and trade within the region and with MENA.
ICPALD expresses its appreciation to FAOSFE for funding this activity.

Source: Intergovernmental Authority on Development