Livestock prices in Buhodle have declined sharply due to the inability to export animals to conflict-torn Yemen for Ramadan, resulting in a glut of livestock on the local Somali markets.
Ibrahim Ismail, a livestock trader in Buhodle, told Radio Ergo the prices of all animals had dropped. A goat currently sells at 1, 050,000 Somali shilling ($50) down from 1, 470,000 ($70), he said.
Farah Adan Anshur, a broker at the livestock market, said a camel sells at Sh6, 720,000 ($320) down from Sh8, 400,000 ($400) in the past week.
The month of Ramadan is normally the peak time for the export of Somali livestock to the Gulf and Yemen.
Livestock remains the main source of income for most pastoralist people in Buhodle, near the Ethiopian border. Many of them are now forced to sell off their animals cheaply to meet their basic needs.
Hussein Adan, a herder from Ar-idhaf settlement, 17km north of Buhodle, brought two of his goats for sale in the local market. He was disappointed with the prices he got for the animals, especially given that food prices have risen during Ramadan.
“I use the money from the goats I sell to buy food and other important items. But due to livestock price decline and the increase of food prices, I can’t now purchase all the stuff I need to buy,” he told Radio Ergo.
