ECONOMY-BURKINA FASO: War Prevents Cattle Export to Cote d’Ivoire

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Brahima Ouedraogo

OUAGADOUGOU, May 2 2003 (IPS) - Cattle traders in this impoverished West African state of Burkina Faso have lost more than 17 million U.S. dollars in revenue, as a result of the civil war in neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire where they export most of their animals.

”If the situation continues without any hope for recovery,” Tinga Ramde, of the Ministry of Animal Resources, warns "traders will converge on Ouagadougou, along with their cattle, to demonstrate." ”Unless the cattle trade between Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso picks up soon, we’ll be forced to slaughter some of our animals because our pens are already full,” laments El Hadj Amadou Bokoum, the president of the Federation of Cattle Traders of Burkina Faso. Sixty percent of Burkina Faso’s animals are exported to Cote d’Ivoire, where a civil war broke out on Sep 19, 2002, according to recent studies by the Ministry of Animal Resources.

Before the conflict, Burkina Faso, with a population of 12 million, used to export 1,000 head of cattle to Cote d’Ivoire every week, according to official statistics.

With more than 50,000 head of cattle stuck in Burkina Faso, traders are worried about the impact overproduction might have on their herds. They are also worried about paying back the loans which they have taken to feed their animals. Like Issiaka Barry, most of the traders prefer to keep their animals rather than sell them at a loss on the local market. ”With an undervalued market, these animals, if sold in Burkina Faso, will cost the traders money,” explains Barry. Selling their stock on the local market would entail a loss of at least 25 percent, the traders say. A healthy cow normally fetches 417 U.S. dollars. But, with the civil war in Cote d’Ivoire, the price is likely to drop to between 209 U.S. dollars and 250 U.S. dollars. In a bid to help the traders, the government has sent a delegation to Ghana and Nigeria to explore new markets. But Ramde says the Ghanian and Nigerian markets do not possess the same advantages as Cote d’Ivoire’s. Both Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire share the CFA, a common currency for French-speaking West African countries. There is also the language barrier for many of the traders, who speak only French. Furthermore, the cost of transporting cattle to Ghana and Nigeria is high. ”In fact, transporting a cow, with train, used to cost between 25 U.S. dollars and 28 U.S. dollars: but sending an animal to Nigeria costs 42 U.S. dollars,” explains Barry. "Today, to transport between 25 and 35 cows by truck to Cote d’Ivoire, via Ghana, cost 2,500 U.S. dollars, almost double the cost per head before the civil war." Some traders are trying to transport via Ghana to Cote d’Ivoire’s eastern market, but the cost is even higher, as are the risks for those unfamiliar with the terrain. ”Sometimes traders end up not even making a dime after being cheated by middlemen,” says Barry. Animals also often arrive in a state of fatigue and distress and cannot be sold at the initial asking price, he says. ”The traders, 80 percent of whom are illiterate, want the government to find solutions and markets for them, just as it does for cotton,” Barry says. The government has announced plans to refurbish the refrigerated slaughterhouse in the capital Ouagadougou and invest a billion CFA (1.7 million U.S. dollars) to bring it up to international standards so as to allow traders to earn more by selling meat directly to foreign consumers. Already Gabon has placed an order for 50 tonnes of beef per week. ”If we can meet this demand, it might solve some of our problems. We’re going to set up structure which will provide Gabonese consumers and, of course, other potential customers, confidence in our meat,” says Ramde. Cattle trade accounts for 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, and 19 percent of Burkina Faso’s export revenues.