COVER STORY
Poultry farming in Africa A
frica’s love for poultry meat and eggs has grown at a staggering pace. Every year, the continent imports more than two million metric tons of poultry products valued at nearly US$3 billion to meet domestic demand. In 2012 alone, more than 5m tons of poultry meat and two million tons of eggs were consumed in Africa. Africa’s love for chicken and eggs is increasing with the size of its rapidly growing population. Chicken and egg farming Chicken and eggs are a rich source of animal protein for millions of Africans. The young population, who make up more than 70% of the continent’s people are the highest consumers of poultry products. Africa’s poultry market is experiencing a boom as a result of its rapid population and economic growth. Many African countries understand the huge income potentials for local poultry production and have placed import bans on poultry products to protect local producers. However, most of these bans have not been effective and have made no real impact on actual imports. Smuggling poultry products, especially meat, have become very big business in countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. For example, in the year 2010, over 200,000 tons of frozen chicken were exported to Ghana from the US, chicken frozen imports EU and Brazil. In Nigeria, up to 100,000 tons of imported poultry products are seized annually over its borders and destroyed. This has severely undercut the profit potentials of this lucrative market for local producers as they struggle to compete with very
16 | September - October 2020
cheap imports. It is almost impossible for African producers to compete with these very cheap imports. Brazil is the world leader in poultry exports and has one of the lowest production costs in the world which makes its exports extremely cheap. Even South Africa, Africa’s former largest economy, is under pressure to save jobs in its local poultry industry due to the influx of cheap Brazilian and Chinese chicken.
Combined with the US and Europe, who are also jostling for a larger share of the African poultry market, it has become increasingly difficult for African entrepreneurs to exploit the poultry consumption goldmine. Market Opportunities for Poultry farming in Africa Since cheap imports from Brazil, the USA and Europe have cornered the African poultry market, are there still any lucrative opportunities for local entrepreneurs? There appears to be a glimmer of hope! Of the two major poultry products (meat and eggs), egg production holds a lot of promise for African entrepreneurs. While it may be relatively easy to smuggle poultry meat, eggs are much more delicate and have a sensitive shelf life. Poultry meat production may still have opportunities for local African entrepreneurs. However, given the stiff competition from cheap imports, this is likely to be a very risky business venture unless you have a guaranteed niche market or exclusive supply contracts. As our population increases, and the size and earning power of the African middle class grow, the demand for poultry products is bound to put a lot of pressure on the already limited production. Households, restaurants, processed food producers, fast food businesses, bakeries and confectioners constitute a large chunk of annual egg demand and make very good potential targets for a small scale egg supplier.
