Burkina Faso has suspended all livestock exports until further notice in an effort to boost meat sales and ensure the availability of animals on the domestic market. This measure has been widely welcomed, but for traders, it's a bitter pill to swallow.
“Every year, we could export 500 sheep to Ivory Coast and Ghana. This year, frankly, nothing came out,” explains Moussa Sangaré, a livestock trader.
"This suspension is unacceptable to us. A sheep that we buy in the bush for 100,000 CFA francs, we are forced to sell for 50,000 CFA francs."
Abassé Kabré has been exporting livestock for almost ten years. His Djallonke sheep are highly prized in Ghana, and the new ban has severely impacted his business.
He hopes this measure will be lifted after the holidays this week.
“Since this is a government decision, we accept it, even though it’s difficult,” Mr. Kabré told Africanews. “We are asking the Burkinabe authorities to lift the ban after Eid al-Adha so that we can sell our sheep in Ghana. That would help us enormously.”
In recent months, the price of meat has fluctuated between 3,000 and 5,000 CFA francs per kilo.
The export ban was welcomed by customers who want to pay less.
“We hope that the price per kilo of meat will decrease thanks to this suspension,” says André Tiendrébéogo, a resident of Ouagadougou. “It will be a real relief for consumers.”
The government's long-term objective is to develop the export of processed meats, rather than livestock. In 2024, cattle, sheep and goats ranked third among exports, behind gold and cotton, generating some 11.8 billion CFA francs in revenue.
