Somali producers of agriculture, fishery and livestock were once Africa’s best and most competitive economic drivers leading in the trade and substantive export of millions of livestock, hundreds of thousands of tons of banana, seafood and sesame export. However, the late 80s and early 90s civil strife and subsequent collapse of the central government weakened the export of livestock while the banana and seafood trade and export collapsed entirely. The major banana export mainly to Europe stopped while livestock export to the Middle East suffered a 9-year ban.
For the last four years, substantive efforts from the Somali producers with the increased support from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other development partners has increased and sustained investment in Somali Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries sectors with a major objective of reducing the country’s food insecurity but also revamp the collapsed economies as well as the export potential. With a new political dispensation in Somalia and existing stability in Somaliland and Puntland as well as the increasing peace and infrastructure in the Ethiopian Somali region and economic growth in the other Somali regions in Kenya and Djibouti; there are already credible signs of recovery and potential economic growth.
As a result, in this year, Somali producers will register a 5-million livestock export record- the world’s second largest after Australia and the highest in decades whilst banana, fruit and vegetable exports have also gradually. This progress has created a growing optimism as business confidence is beginning to grow, paving the way for a full economic recovery that is fully linked to the regional and international trade.
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Should Somaliland businesess take part in thsi? I think they should. Somaliland's precarious dependence on livestock exports to Saudi Arabia is an existential threat worse than Western-backed Mogadshu govt hellbent on sucking Somaliland back into its blood-soaked, genocidal bosom.
China and possibly India and Iran are potential new markets for Livestock and unrecognition of somaliland it acnnot effectively establish trade links with these countries. This could mean Mogadshu overtaking Berbera as the main export port for livestock. taht will be another nail in Somaliland's coffin.