Africa boasts remarkable dynamics in meat production, yet supply problems remain
3 continents, Asia, South America and Africa, have shown remarkable dynamics in the past decade; on the one hand, in terms of population development and, on the other, in terms of meat and egg production. This article zooms in on Africa’s role in the global meat and egg production.
Between 2012 and 2022 (Table 1), Africa had the highest relative population increase of all continents with 28.6% and, with an absolute increase of over 313 million, was in second place behind Asia, but far ahead of the other continents.
More dynamic development to come
This dynamic development will continue in the coming decades. The United Nations have forecasted a population of 2,489 million for Africa by 2050, which corresponds to a relative increase of 76.5% from the 2022 level. Asia, on the other hand, is only projected to increase by 12.4% to 5,290 million. The 4 most populous countries in Africa (Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Egypt) will account for 879 million or 35.3% of the total population, with Nigeria occupying an exceptional position with 440 million inhabitants or a share of 17.7%.
The expected dynamics signifies an almost insurmountable problem with regard to the supply of food, especially protein, and, in contrast to Asia and South America, is likely to result in famine in a number of countries with low per capita income. The gap between the countries with the highest and lowest value added, and therefore also the related purchasing power, is extremely large (Table 2).
Remarkable development differences
Between 2012 and 2022, global meat production increased by 17.3%, from 307.5 million to 360.6 million tons. Asia recorded the highest absolute increase at 24.2 million tonnes, followed by Central and South America at 11.1 million tonnes. Meat production in Africa increased from 17.5 million tonnes to 22.7 million tonnes or by 5.2 million tonnes. Although the growth was significantly lower than in Central and South America, it was the largest of all continents with a relative growth rate of 29.9%. In Europe and North America, growth rates of only 10.7% and 12.4%, respectively, were achieved. The different dynamics resulted in remarkable changes in the shares of the individual continents in global production (Figure 1). While Central and South America, Africa and Asia were able to increase their shares in the period under review, the share of Europe and North America decreased; Europe showed the largest decline, at -1.1%.
Global production of pork and beef increased by 9.2% and 11.8%, respectively, between 2012 and 2022; a much lower rate than chicken meat, production volume of which increased by 29.9%. Looking at the 3 most important meat types in terms of their development at continental level, there are some notable differences.
Pork production in more detail
The production of pork in Central and South America increased by 3.2 million tons, or 46.7%, in the period under review. This places it well ahead of Europe (2.3 million tons), Asia (2.1 million tons) and North America (1.9 million tons). The large proportion of Muslims, who make up around 41% of Africa’s total population, explains why only 2.1 million tons were produced in 2022. Although the production volume increased by 666,000 tons, or 45.4%, in the decade under review, the share in global production was only 1.7%, far below that of the other continents, with the exception of Oceania (Figure 2).
Other types of animal protein
Looking at other types of animal protein, a few conclusions can be drawn:
- With regard to beef production, Africa accounted for 870,000 tons, or 11.9%, of the increase in global production, from 62.0 million tons to 69.3 million tons.
- Sheep and goat meat is important in the diet of pastoral people and sheep and goat’s milk also plays a role in the protein supply. The production of sheep meat increased by 20.0% between 2012 and 2022, and that of goat meat by 24.5%. Africa contributed 19.1% to the global increase in sheep meat and 27.8% to that in goat meat.
- The production volume of poultry meat increased from 107.2 million tons to 139.2 million tons, or 29.9%. Chicken meat accounted for 29.3 million tons, or 91.5% of the 32.1 million tons increase in production volume.
- Between 2012 and 2022, the global production volume of hen eggs rose by 29.8%, from 67.0 million tons to 87.0 million tons. With 862,000 tons, or 4.3%, Africa accounted for a much smaller share in the global increase of 20.0 million tons, compared to chicken meat.
A synopsis
Table 3 summarises the key figures on Africa’s position in global meat and egg production. It is worth noting that the increase in meat production of 5.2 million tons, between 2012 and 2022, was primarily the result of the remarkable momentum in the production of chicken meat, which alone accounted for 58.8%. Pig meat and chicken eggs showed almost equally large absolute increases, although the relative growth rate for pork was significantly higher. The initial value for pig meat was 2 million tons lower than for hen eggs. At 65.2%, the highest relative increase was achieved for chicken meat. This figure is in line with the red-white shift in meat production worldwide. Africa’s large share in global sheep and goat meat production indicates that these two meat types are of great importance in the nutrition of the population, especially in arid regions.
When comparing the development of meat and hen egg production in Africa with the population dynamics, it becomes obvious that only poultry and pork achieved larger relative increases than population growth, while chicken eggs and goat meat showed similar values. The major differences in the availability of meat and eggs within the population’s diet will become apparent at country level.
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