Market opportunities for rabbit producers
Word from the Market with Simon Pande
RABBIT production is poised to be a key driver in Zimbabwe’s economic growth as espoused in the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan.
The commercialisation of small livestock production is viewed as an anchor for empowerment of rural communities and subsequent growth of rural economies.
The Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan is a constituent of the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy that seeks to ensure agriculture contributes about 20 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Under the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy (2021-2025), the aspirations were to grow the sector from
US$5,2 billion to US$8,2 billion by 2025, but the target has already been achieved.
Rabbit production offers substantial livelihood and economic benefits. The rate of return on investment in rabbit production is high, making the enterprise profitable and viable. It will take a mere three months to repay the initial investment in a commercial rabbit production setup.
Opportunities also abound on the export market, where the global rabbit market is poised to rise at a considerable rate during the forecasted 2024-2030 period. Potential export destinations for rabbit meat include the United States and China.
As the regulator of the agriculture sector, the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA), plays a critical role in the rabbit value chain.
AMA is a statutory body established in terms of the Agricultural Marketing Act (Chapter 18:14). The primary function of the authority is to regulate participation in the production, buying or processing and marketing of agricultural products.
Furthermore, AMA remains seized with exploring and facilitating market linkages for various agricultural value chains. It is against this background that AMA’s role in the livestock sector dovetails with the Government’s objective of rural development through growth of small livestock.
There has been a notable increase in demand for rabbit meat in Zimbabwe over the past few years. The hotel industry has shown a huge appetite for rabbit meat recently, buoyed by the rabbit meat craze that has swept across the country.
This also comes against a backdrop of an increase in rabbit meat uptake in Zimbabwe
and globally, driven mainly by the associated health benefits of rabbit meat. A significant number of food outlets in major cities in Zimbabwe have introduced rabbit meat among their dishes. Surprisingly, this dish has become one of the most preferred. A world-class rabbit abattoir is now in place in Waterfalls, Harare. This facility presents a ready market for rabbit producers, with average wholesale prices for rabbit meat ranging between US$1,68 and
US$2,35 per kilogramme. The abattoir has a capacity to process 2,5 tonnes of rabbit meat per day.
On export destinations, Italy and France are the largest importers of rabbit meat; they import 16 000 tonnes and 14 000 tonnes of rabbit meat, respectively. These markets pose an opportunity for local rabbit producers to tap into.
In Asia, China is a significant potential market for Zimbabwe rabbit meat. China is the largest consumer of rabbit meat across the world. It consumes, on average, around a million tonnes annually.
In the region, Botswana has grappled to meet its local requirement and this presents another opportunity for local producers to export to the region.
Export opportunities for Zimbabwe rabbit producers are many and this calls for concerted efforts to increase levels of production and productivity along this value chain so that it will be able to meet local demand and open opportunities to also export and generate foreign currency for the country.
In AMA’s endeavour to increase rabbit meat production, various capacity-building programmes will be implemented, together with farmers across the country.
It is against this background that AMA has partnered the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises; Farm Africa; Empower Bank and Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank to train mostly women on rabbit production, marketing and finance.
Targeting of marginalised groups, such as women, is deliberate as it feeds into the Second Republic’s philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind. In Zimbabwe, women, who are the majority, play a significant role in agriculture, contributing immensely to the country’s food and nutrition security and economic development.