Ethiopian traders eye local camel market

Kenya has become the source market for camels in the region. Traders and livestock farmers from Ethiopia are crossing over into the country to source for camels, which are thereafter exported to the Middle East where there is high demand.

Dr Hussein Mahmoud, a scholar on livestock issues, says the Ethiopian government has capitalised on a gap in the Kenyan market, and using its trade connections to give local traders access to the lucrative Arab market.

The Ethiopian livestock traders are exporting the camels to the wider Arab market especially in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

“Camel traders in Kenya have responded to the growing markets by diverting camels from other markets to the new destination,” he said.

The huge demand has been lead to the creation of a market at the Kenya-Ethiopia border, where Sh5 million worth of camels — whose price ranges from Sh70, 000 to Sh100, 000 per camel — is traded on a daily basis.

According to the Ministry of Livestock development, Kenya has a population of about 70 million livestock with four million being camels.