Each year, Asia and Africa import large quantities of chicken that cannot be sold in Europe because of consumer preferences. Benin is a key African importer. Around 60 per cent of chicken sold at the country’s urban markets has been imported. One special feature of these imports is that the majority of the poultry is exported onwards to Nigeria using informal channels. Strict restrictions prevent direct imports into Nigeria, which strongly fosters informal trade, especially as the demand for chicken is constantly grow- ing in both Benin and Nigeria. Rapid urban population growth, rising income levels and changing eating habits are among the reasons for this trend. A study carried out by the Center for Rural Development (SLE) at Humboldt Univer- sity analysed chicken consumption patterns in Benin. ‘Pragmatic young people’ tend to value convenience and are very price-conscious, so they often buy pre-portioned and cheap imported chicken. Quality is more important to ‘conscious older people’, with the price being less significant. This group tends to opt for locally produced chicken. Furthermore, a large percentage of Beninese consumers would instead buy local meat if it were cheaper and pre-portioned. The Beninese government and international development cooperation are supporting the local poultry sector. However, the sector’s potential to create value and jobs and increase production cannot be tapped (yet) because cheap imported chicken currently dominates the market. As a result, there is no price incentive to boost local poultry farming.