Eggs and chicken in Mogadishu: imports, local farms and the gap

Where Xidig members may contribute

Service, skills and learning openings, not confirmed contracts or tenders:

• Feed: sourcing, formulation and small-scale milling.
• Hatcheries and chick supply: incubation and management were the most-cited problem.
• Poultry veterinary care: vaccination and disease control.
• Housing and cooling: ventilation and solar-powered fans for hot climates.
• Marketing: egg grading, packaging and supply to shops and hotels.

Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles

• A shared hatchery or incubation service for small farms.
• A feed-buying group to cut costs.
• Research: egg prices in Mogadishu markets, local versus imported.

Who may find this useful

• Poultry farmers and veterinarians.
• Animal nutritionists.
• Agricultural engineers.
• Food retailers and hotel suppliers.

Eggs and chicken in Somalia

Recorded egg imports are larger than FAO's estimate of local production.

Imports.

• Mirror data: Somalia does not report its own egg imports, but exporting countries do.
• Volumes: they recorded about 3,900 tonnes in 2022, 4,500 in 2023 and 4,800 in 2024. In 2024 that was worth about US$6.8M (World Bank WITS, Xidig's sums).
• Sources: Türkiye supplied most of it, about 90% by weight in 2024, with India and Yemen next. Kenya appears in small amounts; informal cross-border trade is not recorded.
• Chicks: recorded imports of day-old chicks are very small.

Local production.

• FAO estimates: Somalia produced about 2,700 tonnes of eggs and 4,100 tonnes of poultry meat in 2024. These are FAO estimates, which for Somalia are often imputed.
• Ministry assessment (2019): poultry "has become increasingly important to Somalia's food security", but "The poultry subsector remains underdeveloped, with poor linkages between producers, market and consumers, and minimal external donor support".
• Ministry recommendations: "Explore PPP arrangements for the development of a local chicken feed mill industry" and "Promote investments in hatcheries, if it is determined that there is sufficient demand".

Consumption. FAO data put egg supply at about 0.3 kg per person a year, and poultry meat at about 0.8 kg (2022), far below sheep and goat meat.

What holds farms back. A small 2022 study at three poultry farm sites in Mogadishu (100 samples; published 2023) reported:

• Challenges overall: about 83%.
• Incubation and management: 47%, the most cited.
• Hot environment: 32%.
• Feed shortage: 23%.
• Disease: 15%.
• Breeds: about 58% of birds were indigenous breeds.

Recorded imports of soybean meal, a main protein source in poultry feed, were only about 200 tonnes in 2023 (partner data).

Programmes. Türkiye's development agency (TİKA) has supported poultry in Mogadishu:

• 2021: a layer unit with 1,200 chicks.
• 2024: a broiler breeding project with universities in Mogadishu, alongside a university hatchery and feed production centre it has supported. It aims to "reduce Somalia's reliance on imported chicken meat".

Xidig found no current FAO, IFAD or World Bank poultry programme with published results.

A regional comparison.

• Feed costs: in Kenya, feed "contributes to about 60–70 per cent of the total production costs" of livestock farms.
• Egg prices: a Nation spot check found egg prices in Kenya rose in 2026.

What this means.

• What the farm needs: a large egg farm in Mogadishu would compete with Turkish imports. To succeed it would need reliable feed, chicks and cooling.
• Wider benefit: those same links would help every small poultry farm in the city.

Dependencies and implementation constraints

• Feed ingredients: maize and protein, mostly imported.
• Reliable, affordable electricity for incubators and cooling.
• Veterinary services and vaccines.
• Price competition from imports.

Risks and unknowns

• Disease outbreaks: Xidig found no recent data for Somalia.
• Feed price swings.
• Import data: it may include hatching eggs, and informal trade is not recorded.
• Production figures are estimates.

Questions members should verify before acting

1. What do local and imported eggs cost in Mogadishu today?
2. Where do farms get day-old chicks and feed?
3. What vaccines are available locally?
4. Who would buy eggs in bulk?

What is confirmed, and what isn't

Confirmed

• Partner-reported egg exports to Somalia, 2022–2024.
• The Ministry of Livestock's assessment and recommendations.
• The 2022 Mogadishu farm survey findings.
• The TİKA projects.

Our interpretation

• Feed, chicks and cooling matter more than farm size.

Not yet verified

• Actual local egg production and prices.
• Informal imports from neighbouring countries.
• Poultry meat imports (data not available).

Relevant next steps

• Follow the Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range for poultry and feed-mill plans.
• Share egg and chicken prices in your area through Xidig.