Africa attracts poultry investors’ interest.

Africa attracts poultry investors’ interest. Rabobank identifies African poultry sector as a market with potential for good returns on investment. While much of the investment in the growing global poultry sector has gone to Europe, the Americas and Asia, it may soon be Africa’s turn to attract investors, according to a new report from RaboResearch, the research arm of Rabobank. Annual growth in the global demand for poultry is well known to be growing rapidly – at a rate of more than 60 percent over the coming two decades. And the report, titled ‘Time for Africa: Capturing the African Poultry Investment Opportunity,’ indicates that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for poultry meat and eggs will be 5.5 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, in African countries. These rates exceed those for the animal protein sector generally, and for other meats. African poultry sector offers potential for good returns on investment Rabobank Senior Animal Protein Analyst, Nan-Dirk Mulder, says the demand for poultry products is driven in Africa, as elsewhere, by the shift of the rural population to cities, and a growing middle class. Poultry and eggs are relatively affordable and available as people shift away for vegetable-only diets, and consumers in Africa prefer poultry to other meats. From the farmer’s point of view, poultry enterprises are comparatively easy to start and to expand, thanks to the short payback times. And for feed producers that supply the poultry farmers, Mulder says that several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have the potential to increase the cultivation of crops for animal feeds – an important consideration as 70 percent of total production costs for broilers and eggs are attributable to nutrition. Poultry.