Millions lost to illegal border trade

Ethiopia is losing about 700 million birr (about US $100 million) annually to illegal trading in live animals, hides and skins across the border with neighboring countries, according to the Livestock Marketing Authority (LMA), the pro-government Walta Information Centre reported on Tuesday. It quoted an LMA official, Belachew Hurisa, speaking at two-day workshop on livestock production, quality improvement and market promotion, as saying the "animals and animal products were mainly smuggled to Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, and Yemen". A livestock consultant with the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Dr Kasseye Hadgu, told IRIN that mainly cattle were being sold across the border, because "pastoralists get better market prices outside than locally". He said most of the cattle were being sold on the Kenyan side of the border. When that happened, "of course the government loses tax revenues". According to the LMA, Ethiopia is the biggest livestock producer in Africa and 25th worldwide, possessing 35 million head of cattle, 18 million goats, 24 million sheep and 53 million units of poultry, Reuters reported on Tuesday, "but despite these riches, it is the neighbouring countries of Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti which are amassing fortunes through illicit live-animal trade from Ethiopia", the agency quoted the LMA as saying. The LMA had said that in order to counter this problem it was important to provide economic incentives, improve infrastructure, organise markets and raise awareness on the part of the pastoralists, Walta reported, adding that livestock was the country's second-biggest foreign currency earner, second only to coffee.