As trade increases opportunities to cultivate niche markets are expanding but many challenges remain due to outbreaks of highly virulant diseases across the globe and critical infrastructure gaps in developing countries.

Create a custom printable guide to Animals and Livestock Products

World trade in live animals and livestock products is expanding rapidly due to increased consumption of meat and dairy products in developing countries due to increased growth of per capita income, population and urbanization. This trade grew from $55 billion in 2000 to $93 billion in 2006. Industrialized countries account for 80 percent of world animal product exports; developing countries the remaining 20 percent. Among developing countries, the most significant exporters are Brazil (beef, poultry and pork), China (pork), Argentina (beef), and Thailand (poultry). For several African countries, trade in live animals is also important, although much of this involves informal, intra-regional flows or sales to the Middle East market.

With the outbreaks of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE ), foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and avian influenza, animal health issues have become more important than ever in global trade. BSE and avian flu are zoonoses, meaning they can be passed on to humans. Cattle, sheep and pigs are all prone to infection with FMD which is highly contagious, easily traveling across national borders and affecting entire regions. The World Organization for Animal Health ( OIE ) has a mandate under the WTO's Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Agreement to publish health standards for international trade in animals and animal products and to monitor and certify the disease status of countries.

The EU is one of the most important markets for developing country animal product exports. It is also one of the most challenging. To get on the list of eligible ‘third country’ suppliers, a series of conditions must be met. For instance, the exporting country must have a “farm to fork” traceability system to identify the origin of the animals. This information is essential to rapidly contain the risks to human health and the costs of controlling and eradicating an animal disease outbreak. The third country applicant must also be a member of the OIE and have adequate systems in place for detecting and reporting diseases. The national authority has to be assessed and deemed competent to deliver veterinary controls and the appropriate animal health certificate must accompany all fresh meat imports. Eligible countries must also comply with a number of public health requirements, in particular dealing with BSE . In addition, there are animal welfare requirements at the time of slaughter, such as avoiding overstocked trucks during transport. 

The private sector has also been active designing their own standards and labels for animals and livestock. These standards incorporate the regulations of national authorities and aim to achieve product differentiation through various requirements. Supermarkets often hold contracted producers to strict process standards in order to market the product as safer, better-tasting and more environmentally-friendly. They can certify, for example, that their beef came from grass-fed cattle and increase the price to targeted consumers.  In general, private standards for animal and livestock products target a small but rapidly expanding group of niche consumers in developed countries.