N4.46trn Livestock Imports Drive Domestic Growth Initiative
Nigeria has imported livestock products worth N4.46tn in 66 months, a figure that stakeholders struggle to reconcile. While the data does not specify the exact components, industry players support the importation of high-yielding animal species for cross-breeding but condemn frozen chicken imports, which they claim are crippling the local poultry industry. They hope the government’s new master plan will expand local capacity.
Without urgent intervention, Nigerians’ consumption of meat, milk, and eggs will outstrip domestic supply. This was the warning of Dr. Sirak Bahta of the International Livestock Research Institute. The value of Nigeria’s importation of live animals and animal products in 66 months underscores Bahta’s concern.
Between 2020 and the second quarter of 2025, livestock imports totalled N4.46tn, highlighting the country’s increasing reliance on foreign livestock products, despite government promises to boost local production.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed a steady rise in imports during the period. In 2020, the value stood at N454.52bn, rising to N551.23bn in 2021 and N549.64bn in 2022. By 2023, imports hit N597.47bn before surging to a record N1.49tn in 2024. In just the first six months of 2025, imports amounted to N815.03bn, already surpassing 2023’s full-year figure.
Year-on-year, the 2025 half-year figure exceeded the N620.86bn recorded in H1 2024 by 31.27 per cent, showing that foreign reliance continues to deepen.
Stakeholders described the figures as alarming, warning that while imports of exotic breeds could improve local animal husbandry, heavy dependence on frozen poultry and dairy products threatens Nigeria’s industries.
In separate interviews, industry leaders urged the government to expand local capacity. While they approved of controlled imports for cross-breeding, they strongly opposed the influx of frozen chicken, which they said continues to stifle local poultry.
Exotic Breeds Versus Frozen Imports
President of the Commercial Dairy Ranchers Association of Nigeria, Muhammadu Abubakar, noted that some live animal imports could help improve yields if well managed.
“When there is an inflow of live animal imports, it’s good for the country,” he said. “If you bring an exotic breed and crossbreed it with a local one, you will have a hybrid that survives our tropical climate and produces higher yields of either meat or milk than local breeds.”
Abubakar explained that while local cows often produce as little as five litres of milk daily, exotic species can deliver up to 30 litres per cow. He maintained that imports for cross-breeding could transform Nigeria’s dairy ecosystem if sustained.
However, he raised concerns about the magnitude of imports.
“The value of imports in 2024 was N1.49tn worth of live animals and animal products, but you and I cannot see them anywhere. Perhaps the bulk of that figure is frozen fish and frozen chicken. Importing frozen chicken is never good for the local poultry business,” he said.
He recalled that in the early 2000s, former President Olusegun Obasanjo banned frozen chicken imports, sparking rapid growth in the local poultry industry.
“We saw the emergence of feed mills, the flourishing of veterinary clinics and research institutes, and the creation of jobs.” But if we allow frozen chicken imports again, we are gradually saying goodbye to our local poultry industry,” he warned.
High Importation Puts Local Industry at Risk
Chairman of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Agricultural and Allied Group, Tunde Banjoko, said the figures showed Nigeria’s failure to invest in local production.
“The livestock import figures tell us we are not investing in local production. We are relying on imports to meet demand. We have the technical knowledge and skills, but we are not investing in boosting the local economy,” he said.
Banjoko stressed that Nigeria should be exporting livestock and dairy derivatives rather than being “comfortable importing”.
In the first half of 2025, Nigeria’s livestock exports stood at N51.57bn, leaving a trade deficit of N763.47bn compared with imports worth N815.03bn.
He warned that imports were crippling local businesses: “Most of these imported products end up being cheaper due to stronger foreign currencies and lower production costs abroad. That reduces patronage for local producers, forces businesses to shut down, and puts pressure on our foreign exchange reserves.”
Balancing Government Policy and Livestock Trade
The Federal Government created the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development in July 2024 to reposition the sector. CODARAN’s Abubakar noted that while the ministry aimed to boost local production, its policies often clashed with the interests of import traders.
“You cannot have a ministry meant to develop livestock and still support the importation of frozen food,” he argued.
“Maybe live animals, yes, because they complement local breeds. But frozen poultry is at cross-purposes with local development.”
He urged the ministry to focus on controlled exotic animal imports for cross-breeding and to fully implement its new 10-year livestock development strategy.
Hope in Nigeria’s Livestock Investment Master Plan
In September, the ministry unveiled the Nigeria Livestock Master Plan, developed in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute. The plan aims to transform livestock into “a driver of food security, rural prosperity, and national economic growth.”
Livestock Development Minister, Idi Maiha, described it as “not merely a document, but a blueprint for transformation,” noting that the sector, contributing 17 per cent of agricultural GDP and 5 per cent of national GDP, remains constrained by low productivity, diseases, and weak infrastructure.
Stakeholders expect the plan to reduce dependence on imports by focusing on breeding improvement, vaccination, disease control, and value-chain development.
Banjoko noted, “How affordable and how available are poultry and dairy products in the market? Are they cheaper than imported ones? These are the measures we will use to judge the performance of the ministry.”
Abubakar agreed, adding that modernising livestock practices was long overdue.
Enabling Nigeria’s Dairy Sector
The dairy industry remains a critical weak point. Abubakar stressed that backward integration, while growing, has yet to yield foreign exchange savings.
“Backward integration is a means to an end. The end is import substitution that saves forex. If we’re still spending over $1.5bn annually on dairy imports, then we have a long way to go,” he said, urging multinationals to gradually reduce dairy imports while boosting local production.
Expanding Local Capacity
Experts said the path forward lies in balancing necessary imports for breeding with aggressive local investments.
“The government’s creation of a Ministry of Livestock Development shows intention,” Banjoko said. “But now, the focus must be on strategy, cost of production, quality of breeds, and value-chain development. That is how to reduce imports.”
He called for heavy investment in breeding, research, and infrastructure. Without it, Nigeria will remain dependent on foreign livestock.
The N4.46tn surge in imports over 66 months has exposed the fragility of Nigeria’s livestock sector. While stakeholders welcomed the NLMP as a “blueprint for transformation”, they insisted that its success hinges on curbing frozen poultry imports, modernising dairy practices, and strengthening breeding programmes.
As Abubakar put it, “We need to arrive at self-sufficiency. That is the end goal.”