The livestock is an important sub-sector within Ethiopia’s economy in terms of its
contributions to both agricultural value-added and national GDP. Between 1995/96 and
2005/06, the livestock sub-sector’s share averaged 24 percent of agricultural GDP and 11
percent of national GDP, with the highest shares recorded at 27 percent and 13 percent,
respectively, at its peak (NBE 2005/06). The contribution of livestock and livestock product
exports to foreign exchange earnings is also large. The annual average revenue from
livestock and livestock product exports was estimated to be 13 percent of the annual
national foreign exchange earnings during the period 2000/01 to 2007/08 (NBE 2007/08).
Given the large porous border, a large amount of cross-border exports also go un-recorded.
Therefore, the official estimates of foreign exchange earnings do not necessarily reflect the
actual volume of exports.