ETHIOPIA- the largest livestock population in Africa

Description

Ethiopia has the largest livestock population of any African country, with 53.8 million heads of cattle, 25.51 million sheep, 22.79 million goat, 2.17 million camel and 49.3 million poultry (CSA 2011). Livestock are produced in both the highly productive, high rainfall highlands areas and vast lowland areas of the country. The Ethiopian Meat Producer-Exporters Association, EMPEA, is a membership organization established in 2003. Ethiopia’s export abattoirs are private, state of the art Halal-certified slaughter houses with livestock reception pens, automatic and semiautomatic mechanical slaughter and processing equipment,
chilling rooms, air conditioned deboning facilities, packaging equipment, freezing facilities, and rendering and effluent treatment. EMPEA has seven (7) members that are engaged in meat processing and export. There are an additional ten (10) meat export abattoirs that are currently under development and will begin processing in the near future. EMPEA members participate in HAACP and ISO certifications, and regularly work with international experts to ensure that their facilities and procedures meet global standards.