UAE Dubai and Mauritius are now some of the biggest Livestock Markets of Kenya after Cattle Bulls numbers increase due to favourable African tropical climate, Kenya Government Reports say,Kenya already exporting Beef and Livestock products to many countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia and Mauritius and much of the Livestock Shipping is being done from the Port of Mombasa Port.
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Kenya has secured other new beef and livestock markets in Libya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malaysia, opening a new income stream for pastoralists hard hit by recurrent drought and livestock diseases. The Government said the new markets present a major opportunity for both pastoralists and ranchers. Exporters are buying from pastoralists to meet rising demand which ranchers are unable to meet.
Kenya is the only country in the region which can supply Mauritius with its requirements, says a private company awarded a contract to export 7000 animals worth KSh30 million last year. Between 2004 and 2006, according to Ministry of Livestock figures, Kenyan ranchers earned Sh430 millions from meat product exports.
Kenya and Shipping Line Companies now say that Egypt has also expressed interest in Kenyan Livestock sector imports. “We are negotiating with the Egyptian Delegation for Livestock export,” Ibrahim Ahmed, CEO, African Shipping Line, Kenya and Somalia said recently, adding Egypt will however require live animals but not meat exports.
Kenya has a quota of 142,000 metric tonnes of meat which is provided under the African Caribbean Pacific preferential beef export agreement which cannot be accessed due to prevalence of trade sensitive diseases in the country. According to the statistics released by the Livestock Ministry last year, the Middle East alone has a net demand of 122,000 Metric tonnes.
The region was one of the traditional markets in the 1980s when the country could meet international standards. The animals the country is exporting to Mauritius are sourced from ranches and according to authorities, the export permit does not allow the exporter to source animals elsewhere in the country despite the fact that there may be plenty of animals meeting the required fat content. Kenya's Livestock Ministry earlier announced Iran’s intention to venture into local livestock products processing for purpose of serving the export market.
Kenya recently also secured an export deal to Egypt, where 10 tonnes of beef are exported every week. The country is also exporting up to eight tonnes of mutton to Qatar and Dubai weekly. Between March and July, Kenya exported 4,950 cattle to Mauritius, according to statics provided by the Kenya Government. The growing market has already raised the price of livestock for export. Kenya is angling for a slice of the fast growing demand for animal protein in Arab countries as livestock traders seek an alternative market amid drought and squeezed domestic market.
The Livestock ministry said a team of veterinary and other animal specialists from Arabia have been invited into the country to assess livestock quality control system in a move aimed at unlocking the sector’s export potential. That team is poised to endorse Kenya’s production standards and certify that the country’s animal products meet Islamic (halal) conditions.
This could raise exports to Mauritius, United Arabs Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia which have traditionally bought meat and live animals from Kenya. World meat prices have maintained upward trend from 2008, hitting 20-year highs by end of 2010 in some Arab countries as global demand continue to outstrip supply, Food and Agricultural Organisation records show.
“We have not been in a position to take full advantage of this rising demand which at the moment is being stretched by cultural and religious practices because of standards limitations,” said Mr Mohamed Abbas, Kenyan Government.
