Cattle prices across West Africa climbed sharply between 2024 and 2025, with Nigeria recording the steepest increases as inflation, rising feed and transport costs, and strong festive demand collided with tightening supply, according to market data and industry reports.
A RaboResearch report had warned that global cattle prices were set to rise, a forecast that has since played out across much of the region.
In response to growing demand and the need to modernise livestock trade, a 24-hour International Livestock Market was launched in December at Volivo in Ghana’s Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region.
The market, provided by the Lower Volta Association of Small-scale Miners and Farmers, includes production and processing zones, logistics infrastructure and a trade centre. Designed as a comprehensive agribusiness hub, the facility aims to strengthen Ghana’s livestock value chain, expand regional trade and create sustainable employment, particularly for youth and women.
When fully operational, it is projected to generate more than 1,600 direct and indirect jobs for farmers, traders, transporters, processors and allied service providers.
Across Nigeria, however, price pressures have been especially acute. From northern pastoral hubs to major urban livestock markets in Abuja, Lagos and the South East, buyers faced year-on-year price increases ranging from 50 per cent to well over 100 per cent, according to market observations and media reports.
In 2024, small cows weighing under 200 kilogrammes typically sold for between ₦150,000 and ₦250,000 in markets such as Maiduguri, Kano and Kara near Lagos. Medium-sized cows, weighing between 200 and 350 kilogrammes, traded in the ₦250,000 to ₦400,000 range, while large cows exceeded ₦400,000 depending on breed and condition. These prices reflected relatively stable supply conditions and proximity to Sahelian cattle corridors.
By 2025, prices had escalated sharply across all size categories. In Abuja’s Durumi livestock market and other major urban centres, small cows were commonly priced between ₦500,000 and ₦600,000, while medium-sized animals sold for between ₦800,000 and ₦1 million. Large cows, particularly premium breeds such as Sokoto Gudali, were reported to be selling for as much as ₦1.5 million to ₦2 million.
Regional disparities that once favoured northern buyers also narrowed significantly. In 2024, medium-sized cows in Maiduguri and other northern markets traded for as low as ₦150,000 to ₦350,000, while prices in southern markets such as Kara and Ibadan ranged from ₦200,000 to ₦450,000. By 2025, even northern markets experienced steep increases, with average cows approaching ₦500,000 during peak festive periods.
Ghana’s cattle market followed a different. In 2024, adult cows weighing roughly 400 to 600 kilogrammes sold for between GHS2,500 and GHS5,000 in northern rural markets, with higher prices in Accra and Kumasi reflecting transport and processing costs. At prevailing exchange rates, this placed Ghanaian cattle broadly in the $400 to $800 range.
Last year, however, Ghana experienced a rare seasonal softening of prices ahead of Eid-ul-Adha. Reports from the Kumasi abattoir indicated that cattle arrivals surged to more than 4,000 animals in June, compared with about 1,000 during the same period the previous year. The influx, supported by a stronger cedi and increased cross-border inflows, pushed prices lower.
Cows that sold for around GHS20,000 during the 2024 festive season were trading closer to GHS15,000 in 2025, while others fell from GHS15,000 to approximately GHS10,000, according to the Ghana News Agency via Modern Ghana. The contrast with Nigeria underscored how currency strength and improved supply flows can moderate seasonal demand pressures.
In Senegal, cattle prices remained elevated throughout the period, with medium to large cows often valued between XOF800,000 and XOF1.5 million, equivalent to roughly $1,300 to $2,500. Senegal’s market structure, which places increasing emphasis on genetic improvement and controlled imports rather than large-scale live cattle inflows, has helped keep prices firm between 2024 and 2025.
A comparison of medium-sized cow prices across selected West African countries highlights the divergence. In Nigeria, prices rose from ₦250,000–₦400,000 in 2024 to ₦800,000–₦1 million in 2025. In Ghana, medium cows averaged GHS2,500–GHS5,000 in 2024 and remained similar or slightly lower in 2025 ahead of Eid due to improved supply. In Senegal, prices remained broadly stable at XOF800,000–XOF1.5 million across both years.
Seasonal demand linked to Eid-ul-Adha, Eid-ul-Fitri and Christmas continues to drive sharp price spikes across the region. At the same time, insecurity has emerged as a growing structural factor. A report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) found that cattle rustling has become “a primary economic tool” for violent extremist organisations and some state-affiliated militias operating across the Sahel.
As these groups expand southwards, the tri-border area encompassing Burkina Faso’s Sud-Ouest, Côte d’Ivoire’s Bounkani and Ghana’s Upper West has become a critical hub for illicit livestock trade. The report identified Ghana’s Upper West region as the primary “laundering hub” for stolen cattle, noting that animals rustled in conflict zones are driven across porous borders into Ghana or Côte d’Ivoire to obscure their origins. By April 2025, the report said, Ghana had emerged as “the most significant laundering zone by volume”.
“The impact on local communities is devastating,” the report noted, adding that a single raid can wipe out a herder’s entire life savings. Without stronger cross-border coordination and comprehensive data to track livestock movements, GI-TOC warned that cattle rustling would continue to fuel regional instability and undermine peace-building efforts across West Africa.
Separately, researchers at the Roslin Institute, working with the University of Makerere in Uganda, have demonstrated how detailed cattle movement data can support disease surveillance and policy planning. By analysing official trade and movement records, the team identified key hubs and seasonal patterns that could guide targeted interventions against highly contagious Transboundary Animal Diseases.
“Understanding and managing these diseases is crucial,” the researchers said, particularly in countries where livestock plays a central role in livelihoods and economic stability. They added that improved data could help authorities allocate resources more effectively, prevent outbreaks and reduce the wider economic risks associated with livestock trade across sub-Saharan Africa.
