Production trends
5. Data on milk production in Africa are scarce and often unreliable. Very little is in fact known about the quantity of milk produced, left for calf feeding and human consumption, processed into different types of dairy products, consumed at home or sold through formal and/or informal marketing channels.
6. Nevertheless, aggregate FAO milk production statistics provide general indications about regional production patterns. For the period from 1974/76 to 1985/87, the following patterns were evident:
(i) A sharp distinction exists between drier and moister areas 1 with respect to levels of domestic production. Drier areas exhibit relatively higher levels of production. In 1983/85, the total volume of dairy produce amounted to 1,112,000 t LME 2 in dry areas and to 562,000 t LME in moist areas; the corresponding figures for 1985/87 were 1,070,000 t LME and 575,000 t LME respectively (FAO 1984a, 1985a and 1987a);(ii) Some differences are also apparent in the types of dairy products produced in dry and moist areas. Fresh milk is clearly the major dairy produce in both areas. Butter and cheese accounted for an average 11% of total 1983/85 dairy production in dry areas and for 18% in moist areas, suggesting that the latter place relatively more emphasis on the production of these items than do drier areas (FAO 1984a and 1985a);
(iii) Between 1974/76 and 1983/85 growth in total dairy output was generally slow in West Africa (2% p.a.). Over the same period, the growth rate in per caput dairy production averaged -1% p.a. for the region as whole. Figures for 1985/87 indicate a further decline in dairy production largely as a result of reduced production in dry areas and only slight increases in moist areas.
Import trends
7. Imports of milk and milk products in West Africa have been substantial and have grown fast. In 1983/85, total net imports of milk and milk products into West Africa were valued at about US$ 266 million (average over 3 years) corresponding to a volume of 1,356,000 t LME. This volume of imports declined to 938,000 t LME in 1985/87 (FAO 1984b, 1985b and 1987b).
8. In sharp contrast to the picture drawn for milk production, moister countries imported over twice the volume of dairy products imported by drier countries in 1983/85. This picture appears to have changed in 1985/87 with the moister countries, and more particularly Nigeria, having substantially cut down on imports (FAO 1984b, 1985b and 1987b).
9. In volume terms, dairy imports grew faster in drier compared to moister countries during the 1974/761983/85 period, their annual growth rates being 12% and 9% respectively. Furthermore, the growth in dairy imports exceeded by far the estimated domestic production growth rates in almost all West African countries, suggesting that increasing dairy demand was mostly met through imports.
Consumption trends
10. Aggregate consumption of milk and milk products in West Africa can roughly be estimated by adding up aggregate dairy production and net import figures. On this basis, aggregate dairy consumption in West Africa amounted to about 3 million t LME in 1983/85 and to 2.6 million t LME in 1985/87.
11. Although these totals were almost equally distributed between drier and moister areas, a sharp division can be seen in the extent to which dairy consumption in these areas was supplied by domestic production or imports. While the majority of West African countries were importers of dairy products, in 1983/85, net dairy imports accounted for an average 62% of total dairy consumption in moister areas and for only 28% of consumption in drier areas. The equivalent proportions for 1985/87 were 46% and 29% respectively.
12. Per caput consumption levels suggest that dairy consumption patterns roughly follow production patterns though average per caput consumption of domestically produced milk appears to be declining in most of West Africa In 1983/85 per caput dairy consumption averaged 11 kg LME in moister areas and 45 kg LME in drier areas. Although per caput consumption was relatively low in moister areas, its growth rate over the 1975-1985 decade, at 2% p.a., was the same as that calculated for the drier areas during the same period. Thus, it seems that milk consumption has gained importance in moister areas despite the considerable constraints posed on livestock production (e.g. tsetse). But one should also stress that dairy imports in moist areas were far more significant in total consumption than domestic milk production.
13. The trends outlined above give useful first indicators for what may be characteristic differences in consumption between dry and moist zones of West Africa. The following section will look more specifically at some of the factors which have affected consumption in the region.
