Poultry Market in West Africa: Overview & Comparative Analysis

Demand for livestock products, including poultry, is expanding in West Africa as a result of population growth, increased urbanization, and rising incomes. Trade liberalization has had differing effects on poultry markets in the region, with some countries experiencing large import flows of frozen poultry from the European Union and others receiving very little. A 2005 analysis from the Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) concluded that overall, West Africa did not have a comparative advantage in the global poultry trade.1 The West African poultry sector faces high production costs, safety concerns due to lack of sanitary controls, and technical constraints in processing and marketing. In addition to biological issues, the lack of breeders, marketing, and processing technology present technical constraints to poultry sector growth.2