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THE EXPORT AGENDA
MEAT TRADE: WHAT THE PAST FIVE YEARS LOOK LIKE By James Kariuki
L
oss of jobs and closure of eateries following the COVID-19 pandemic adversely hurt the livestock sector registering a 36.6 percent decline of all cows slaughtered from 366,000 heads of cattle to 195,000 heads of cattle in 2021.
Fall in demand adversely hurt investments within the sector where pastoralist communities and other livestock keepers spent 1.95 billion in 2020 or 53.4 percent, the lowest recorded expenditure in the past five years with 2016 reporting the highest injection at Sh4.18 billion.
A report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) blames reduced purchasing power due to loss of jobs and mandatory closure of eateries that disrupted retail sales avenues.
The livestock sector reported a steady decline in spending revealing falling interest in the sector due to dwindling returns with a 32.6 percent drop or Sh941 .3 million less spent in 2020 which registered Sh1.95 billion compared to Sh2.89 billion spent a year earlier.
“The number of pigs slaughtered declined by 4.1 percent from 413,500 in 2019 to 396,700 in 2020. However, the number of sheep and goats slaughtered increased by 6.5 percent from 11.3 million to 12 million goats slaughtered in 2020,”it reads. 2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Cattle and Calves
2,460.2
2,590.0
2,781.7
3,080.8
1,953.7
Sheep and Goats
8,220.2
9,206.7
10,247.6
11,302.7
12,040.2
Pigs
313.6
360.1
388.2
413.5
396.7
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
4,179.2
4,610.7
2,296.7
2,888.8
1,947.5
Source: Economic Survey, 2021(Kenya)
Ksh Source: Economic Survey, 2021(Kenya)
Meat Edition