Assessment of Marketing Livestock and Meat in Hawassa Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The present study was conducted to study the marketing of animals (cattle, goat and sheep) and meat (beef, chevon and mutton) at vicinity of Hawassa city, Southern, Ethiopian. The marketing price of cattle, goat and sheep (livestock) was collected from observations at three different livestock markets places and the data from price of meat was collected from individual restaurants, butchers and hotels. The results indicated that the price of the livestock fluctuated between seasons and also depended on the various attributes such as coat color, sex, age, body condition, holiday etc. The price of the livestock were significantly higher just prior to the festivals and also during the holiday season. The study also indicated that the price of the roasted chevon and beef are higher than the raw ones this may also be attributed to the cost involved in the roasting process and the profit made by the restaurant owners themselves.

Key words: beef; cattle; chevon; goat; mutton; sheep