FAOSTAT · 2024

Agricultural production in Botswana

According to FAOSTAT, Botswana produced 54,554 t of cereals, 67,842 t of vegetables, 28,326 t of fruit, 101,747 t of meat and 36,704 t of milk in 2024. Its largest crops by volume were sorghum (30,000 t), watermelons (18,743 t) and maize (18,000 t).

Products recorded: 55
World #1: 0; products
World top 10: 0; products
Year: 2024

Among its twelve largest crops, the biggest ten-year change was in sunflower seed (+763%), followed by oranges (+474%).

Livestock numbers: 918,057 cattle, 7,083 pigs, 148,744 sheep and 1.2 million goats.

Totals by group

Group	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
All roots and tubers	110,966	139	0.01%	+11%
All meat	101,747	125	0.03%	+15%
All vegetables	67,842	140	0.01%	+48%
All cereals	54,554	147	0%	+8.6%
All milk	36,704	144	0%	−17%
All fruit	28,326	158	0%	+347%
All pulses	15,845	115	0.02%	+132%
All citrus fruit	3,871	108	0%	+474%
All eggs	3,547	131	0%	−21%

All products by volume, 2024

Product	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
Other starchy roots and tubers	106,245	12	1.09%	+6.5%
Beer	79,200	106	0.04%	+21%
Beef (cattle meat)	64,889	87	0.09%	+22%
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	44,858	97	0.02%	+9.0%
Sorghum	30,000	58	0.05%	+110%
Game meat, fresh, chilled or frozen	27,967	18	1.36%	+12%
Cow milk	25,704	142	0%	−15%
Watermelons	18,743	86	0.02%	—
Skim milk of cows	18,525	107	0.01%	+14%
Maize	18,000	126	0%	−37%
Other pulses n.e.c.	15,845	43	0.36%	+132%
Goat milk	11,000	75	0.05%	−22%
Edible offal of cattle, fresh, chilled or frozen	8,860	77	0.09%	+22%
Raw hides and skins of cattle	8,860	73	0.1%	+22%
Onions, dry	7,271	118	0.01%	+59%
Tallow	6,218	37	0.08%	+70%
Carrots and turnips	6,000	97	0.01%	—
Other fruits, n.e.c.	5,712	96	0.01%	+0.8%
Cabbages	4,940	111	0.01%	—
Cereals n.e.c.	4,226	41	0.05%	+5.8%
Tomatoes	4,023	134	0%	—
Goat meat	3,976	77	0.05%	−22%
Oranges	3,871	92	0.01%	+474%
Potatoes	3,632	135	0%	—
Hen eggs	3,547	130	0%	−21%
Sunflower seed	3,117	61	0.01%	+763%
Cheese from skimmed cow milk	2,896	35	0.11%	−56%
Cattle fat, unrendered	2,121	66	0.06%	+22%
Chicken meat	1,584	160	0%	−6.8%
Wheat	1,328	109	0%	—
Sweet potatoes	1,088	90	0%	—
Rabbit meat	1,032	20	0.12%	−0.3%
Millet	1,000	60	0%	−71%
Seed cotton	983	67	0%	−1.7%
Sheep meat	874	123	0.01%	−40%
Spinach	749	50	0%	—
Edible offal of goat, fresh, chilled or frozen	736	73	0.05%	−22%
Other meat of mammals, fresh or chilled	721	32	0.05%	0.0%
Pork (pig meat)	704	149	0%	+66%
Raw hides and skins of goats or kids	670	74	0.04%	−22%
Cotton seed	581	70	0%	−1.5%
Groundnuts (peanuts)	500	92	0%	−9.6%
Butter of cow milk	491	104	0.01%	+13%
Cream, fresh	390	64	0.01%	+13%
Groundnut oil	386	75	0.01%	+3,760%
Cotton lint	295	70	0%	−1.7%
Goat fat, unrendered	169	68	0.05%	−22%
Edible offal of sheep, fresh, chilled or frozen	166	102	0.01%	−40%
Raw hides and skins of sheep or lambs	139	107	0.01%	−40%
Cottonseed oil	95	69	0%	−11%
Buttermilk, dry	68	98	0.01%	—
Edible offal of pigs, fresh, chilled or frozen	43	122	0%	+65%
Pig fat, rendered	40	78	0%	+38%
Fat of pigs	38	119	0%	+65%
Sheep fat, unrendered	38	100	0.01%	−40%

Live animals, 2024

Product	Head	World rank	Share	10-year change
Goats	1,205,792	75	0.1%	−25%
Cattle	918,057	104	0.06%	−43%
Chickens	805,000	152	0%	−21%
Sheep	148,744	125	0.01%	−35%
Rabbits and hares	123,000	29	0.06%	+2.5%
Pigs	7,083	154	0%	+72%
Asses	5,378	74	0.01%	−98%
Mules and hinnies	3,275	40	0.04%	+2.3%
Horses	2,572	110	0%	−90%

Botswana among the world’s producers, 2024

Share of world production by country for the largest crops of Botswana, which is outlined on the map.

Product

under 0.1%0.1–1%1–5%5–15%15% or moreno data
Small island states are not drawn at this scale.

Production per person, 2024

Botswana had 2.5 million inhabitants in 2024 (FAOSTAT estimate). Production of its largest products per inhabitant, compared with the world average:

Product	kg per person	World, kg per person	Ratio
Other starchy roots and tubers	42.1	1.20	35.1×
Beer	31.4	22.7	1.4×
Beef (cattle meat)	25.7	8.55	3.0×
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	17.8	34.5	0.5×
Sorghum	11.9	7.87	1.5×
Game meat, fresh, chilled or frozen	11.1	0.25	44.1×
Cow milk	10.2	97.7	0.1×
Watermelons	7.43	12.9	0.6×
Skim milk of cows	7.35	17.5	0.4×
Maize	7.14	149	0.0×
Other pulses n.e.c.	6.28	0.55	11.5×
Goat milk	4.36	2.50	1.7×

Production divided by population; it is not consumption, because crops are traded and used for feed, processing and industry.

Trade in agricultural products, 2024

Botswana reported exports of 40 and imports of 157 of the products covered here.

Largest exports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Beans, dry	2,610	USD 2.6 m	0.98	52 of 139
Meat of pig with the bone, fresh or chilled	328	USD 981,000	2.99	44 of 81
Pomelos and grapefruits	1,315	USD 880,000	0.67	33 of 79
Sunflower seed	1,183	USD 666,000	0.56	37 of 95
Oranges	683	USD 585,000	0.86	65 of 115
Meat of cattle with the bone, fresh or chilled	174	USD 551,000	3.17	56 of 92
Wheat	1,245	USD 484,000	0.39	66 of 102
Soya bean oil	209	USD 269,000	1.29	79 of 110
Tangerines, mandarins, clementines	161	USD 160,000	0.99	71 of 107
Peas, dry	233	USD 126,000	0.54	59 of 103

Largest imports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Maize (corn)	317,608	USD 90.0 m	0.28	58 of 190
Raw cane or beet sugar (centrifugal only)	68,194	USD 58.0 m	0.85	45 of 183
Beer of barley, malted	217,342	USD 57.4 m	0.26	15 of 192
Wheat	128,619	USD 47.4 m	0.37	109 of 176
Sunflower-seed oil, crude	23,334	USD 35.5 m	1.52	70 of 186
Other stimulant, spice and aromatic crops, n.e.c.	6,075	USD 17.8 m	2.93	31 of 191
Wine	8,483	USD 15.9 m	1.88	71 of 192
Sorghum	26,644	USD 15.7 m	0.59	18 of 130
Apples	11,523	USD 10.0 m	0.87	87 of 190
Tea leaves	2,473	USD 9.9 m	3.98	70 of 191

FAOSTAT detailed trade data, release of 23 July 2026: quantities in tonnes and values in current US dollars as reported; exports include re-exports. Only the FAO trade items that match Husfarm production pages are included: meat covers fresh or chilled meat only (frozen meat is a separate item), and processed goods such as milled rice or flour are not listed.

Questions and answers

What are the main crops produced in Botswana?

By volume, the largest products of Botswana in 2024 were other starchy roots and tubers (106,245 t), beer (79,200 t), beef (cattle meat) (64,889 t), according to FAOSTAT.

Is Botswana the world’s largest producer of anything?

Not in 2024. Its highest world rank was 12th, for other starchy roots and tubers.

How much other starchy roots and tubers does Botswana produce per person?

About 42.1 kg per inhabitant in 2024, compared with a world average of 1.20 kg (production divided by population, FAOSTAT).

What does Botswana export most?

By value, its largest agricultural exports in 2024 among the products covered here were beans, dry (USD 2.6 m), meat of pig with the bone, fresh or chilled (USD 981,000), pomelos and grapefruits (USD 880,000), according to FAOSTAT.

What does Botswana import most?

By value, its largest agricultural imports in 2024 among the products covered here were maize (corn) (USD 90.0 m), raw cane or beet sugar (centrifugal only) (USD 58.0 m), beer of barley, malted (USD 57.4 m).

Where does this data come from?

Production, trade and population figures are from FAOSTAT, the statistics database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rankings, shares and per-person figures are calculated by Husfarm.

Source: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 4 November 2026. fao.org/faostat. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Charts, rankings and changes calculated by Husfarm.