Nigeria leads Africa in five of six goat categories measured

Key Takeaways

  • Nigeria leads Africa in five of six goat categories, but its largest share is just 18.2% of continental production.
  • Nigeria has 91 million goats, 17.0% of Africa’s total, nearly twice Ethiopia’s 54 million.
  • Nigeria produced 292,000 tonnes of goat meat, making it Africa’s largest producer but only the world’s 5th largest.
  • Chad produced 166,000 tonnes of goat meat, making it Nigeria’s closest African rival.
  • Goat milk is the exception: FAOSTAT records no Nigerian production, while Sudan accounts for 24.8% of Africa’s total.

Nigeria leads Africa in 5 of 6 measured goat product categories. The country accounted for 18.2% of Africa's goat meat production, producing 292,000 tonnes. It also accounted for 17.0% of Africa's goat headcount (91 million goats), 15.5% of goat hides and skins, 15.1% of goat fat, and 14.4% of goat offal.

Leading Africa does not mean dominating the continent. Nigeria's largest share was still below one-fifth of Africa's total, with production spread across more than 50 other countries.

Chad was Nigeria's nearest rival in goat meat, producing 166,000 tonnes, while Ethiopia followed in goat headcount with 54 million goats.

Goat milk was the one category where FAOSTAT recorded no Nigerian production. This does not necessarily mean Nigeria produced none, as the figure may reflect unreported production. Sudan led Africa with 1.14 million tonnes, or 24.8% of the continent's total.

Globally, Nigeria ranked 5th in goat meat production, a reminder that its dominance is regional, not global.

Source:

FAOSTAT

Period:

2024
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