THE IMPACT OF LIVE ANIMAL EXPORT ON MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS EXPORT IN ETHIOPIA

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of live animal export on meat and meat products export and to identify the major factors of the export. The study revealed that the number (volume) of live animal export reached highest level (783,888 heads) in 2012 and lowest (279,480 heads) in 2017. The volume of meat and meat products export has increased from 4,775 tons in 2008 to 19,779 tons in 2017.This might indicate that exporting live animals has an impact on meat and meat products export by limiting the supply of live animals to export abattoirs making them perform below their processing capacity. Seasonality and low supply of quality animals was ranked the first factor affecting the live animals, meat products export. Thus, the Ethiopian government and other concerned stakeholders should focus on implementing different strategies and legal frameworks to either stop or minimize live animal trade and export.