With an estimated livestock population of over 129 million, Chad boasts one of the largest livestock populations in Africa and the world, said the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), noting that north central Africa’s cattle population will serve as a major catalyst for intra-African trade.
ECA, in a statement issued on Monday, said as Central Africa’s leading livestock exporter, Chad has been supplying crowded markets for decades, particularly in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Congo.
Yet paradoxically, Chad primarily exports live cattle, allowing other countries to capture most of the added value and jobs generated by meat processing, it said.
While member states of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) import more than $350 million worth of processed meat and offal annually, the total value of regional livestock trade barely reaches $50 million, the statement noted.
For decades, livestock farming in Chad has been dominated by traditional pastoral practices, effective in managing pastures but vulnerable to climatic and economic challenges. This model has left herders facing numerous difficulties, including precarious living conditions, regional insecurity, and limited access to processing facilities and logistical networks.
Yet, despite these constraints, Chad holds a significant advantage: its strategic location at the crossroads of trade routes linking North, Central, and West Africa. Moreover, instability in neighboring Sahelian countries, such as Sudan and Niger, has further increased the demand for meat supplies from Chad.
It said the market opportunities are already in place. Nigeria, the largest buyer of Chadian livestock, represents a strategic target for processed meat exports, provided import restrictions are lifted. Egypt, facing a supply shortage since the war in Sudan, has already turned to Chad to secure its meat supply by air.
Gabon and Congo receive shipments via refrigerated trucks, while Gulf countries, particularly Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have expressed interest in Chadian camel meat. This expansion into new markets marks Chad’s entry into a new commercial era, where processed meat is gradually replacing live cattle as the country’s flagship export product.
Through this transformation, Chad is breaking free from the Dutch disease, the economic trap that compels many African countries to export low-value raw materials only to import processed products at a high cost. The government’s measure which involves export of processed meat has provided a viable and sustainable alternative based on raw material processing to generate added value and jobs locally, fostering intra-African trade through African Continental Free Trade Area.
MG/abj/APA