Exploring new markets for Kenya’s meat exports

By Dr Wilfred Marube

Did you know that Kenya is a big exporter of meat and meat products to different destination markets?

Apart from flower and horticultural exports that Kenya is widely known for, our nyama (meat) is loved in other countries just as Kenyans relish the famous local delicacy, Nyama Choma.

Yes, Kenya continues to spread the sizzling delicacy to the rest of the world.

According to export statistics, Kenya’s meat and meat products exports in 2020 amounted to $65.4 million. The products are mainly goat and sheep meat that comprise 85.3 percent of total meat exports from the country. Others are products from bovine animals, including meat (7.1 percent) and edible offal (2.4 percent), and meat and offal from fowls, rabbit, and turkey, among others.

The top five export markets for Kenya’s meats include United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, South Sudan and Kuwait.

What does this say about the love for the country’s meat and the sector at large? That it is well-positioned to scale up meat production and feed the world.

Presently, the livestock sector in Kenya accounts for 12 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and in the financial year 2020, exports of meat and its products accounted for 1.1 percent of total exports from the country. The government is keen to improve on this.

At the inaugural national Meat Expo hosted in Nairobi last November (2021), Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, drew the attention of participants to a set of key bills that were being pushed in Parliament, as among government initiatives to improve the livestock sector.

The GCC connection

At the moment, the top importers of Kenya’s meat and meat products are from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The GCC countries include the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar and State of Kuwait.

We cannot talk of GCC, especially at this time, without mentioning the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai, where Kenya has been actively participating since its kick-off in October 2021. The event is expected to end in March 2022.

Kenya is participating under the theme, “Feel the Energy”, and is using the platform to market and showcase numerous opportunities in trade, tourism and investments.

As such, one of the key business forums that the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) and stakeholders are organising in Dubai is about meat and meat products. This is scheduled for February 14 2022.

The purpose of the forum is to highlight opportunities in the sector to the larger GCC region and attract investments.  

Earlier this month, Kenya resumed direct export of livestock to Oman after a more than 16-year ban. A ship carrying over 14,000 goats and sheep from different livestock-keeping zones left Mombasa port for Salalah Port, Oman, as the two countries agreed to boost livestock trade in the coming years.

This presents a huge potential and a ready market for Kenya’s meat products to Oman, which is part of the GCC countries.

As an exports Agency, we are aware of the constraints relating to market access by our meat exporters, and we are already engaging all key stakeholders in the sector to ensure our products meet global market standards.

Priority products

We have also enlisted the meat and meat products sector among our 22 points of focus as an agency. Our product prioritisation process factors in commodities with prospects, both in terms of returns and long-term growth, while also being cognizant of the capacity to meet and satisfy the market requirements.

For Kenya, the journey for growing this industry has just begun. There is still a huge unexplored potential in the export of Kenya’s meat and meat products.

The writer is the Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency