FAOSTAT · 2024

Agricultural production in Lesotho

According to FAOSTAT, Lesotho produced 67,527 t of cereals, 32,625 t of vegetables, 14,984 t of fruit, 8,837 t of meat and 182,000 t of milk in 2024. Its largest crops by volume were potatoes (132,750 t), maize (56,443 t) and sorghum (6,261 t).

Products recorded: 36
World #1: 0; products
World top 10: 1; products
Year: 2024

Among its twelve largest crops, the biggest ten-year change was in wheat (−67%), followed by sorghum (−50%).

Livestock numbers: 517,450 cattle, 35,490 pigs, 1.9 million sheep and 700,831 goats.

Totals by group

Group	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
All milk	182,000	123	0.02%	−4.3%
All roots and tubers	132,750	134	0.01%	+0.9%
All cereals	67,527	145	0%	−42%
All vegetables	32,625	155	0%	+0.8%
All fruit	14,984	165	0%	−1.1%
All meat	8,837	166	0%	−20%
All pulses	1,684	151	0%	−37%
All eggs	1,355	147	0%	−28%

All products by volume, 2024

Product	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
Cow milk	182,000	117	0.02%	−4.3%
Potatoes	132,750	100	0.03%	+0.9%
Maize	56,443	113	0%	−37%
Beer	39,619	118	0.02%	−4.5%
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	32,625	104	0.01%	+0.8%
Other fruits, n.e.c.	14,984	84	0.04%	−1.1%
Wool, greasy	8,165	31	0.48%	+124%
Sorghum	6,261	77	0.01%	−50%
Game meat, fresh, chilled or frozen	5,733	37	0.28%	+11%
Wheat	4,183	105	0%	−67%
Beans, dry	1,531	92	0.01%	−36%
Hen eggs	1,355	147	0%	−28%
Beef (cattle meat)	1,042	162	0%	−56%
Pork (pig meat)	752	146	0%	−57%
Chicken meat	569	171	0%	−41%
Sheep meat	430	138	0%	+3.9%
Oats	342	69	0%	−2.6%
Barley	298	97	0%	−6.3%
Raw hides and skins of cattle	220	133	0%	−56%
Goat meat	199	128	0%	−52%
Edible offal of cattle, fresh, chilled or frozen	192	134	0%	−56%
Buttermilk, dry	153	91	0.02%	—
Peas, dry	153	90	0%	−45%
Raw hides and skins of sheep or lambs	133	109	0.01%	+3.9%
Tea, packed	125	90	0%	—
Edible offal of sheep, fresh, chilled or frozen	93	112	0%	+3.3%
Edible offal of pigs, fresh, chilled or frozen	80	108	0%	−57%
Horse meat, fresh or chilled	70	47	0.01%	+56%
Fat of pigs	69	115	0%	−57%
Sheep fat, unrendered	52	94	0.01%	+4.0%
Donkey meat	42	7	0.06%	—
Cattle fat, unrendered	36	135	0%	−56%
Edible offal of goat, fresh, chilled or frozen	35	109	0%	−52%
Raw hides and skins of goats or kids	33	110	0%	−52%
Edible offals of horses and other equines, fresh, chilled or frozen	8	43	0.01%	+60%
Goat fat, unrendered	5	116	0%	−44%

Live animals, 2024

Product	Head	World rank	Share	10-year change
Sheep	1,913,822	69	0.14%	+42%
Goats	700,831	84	0.06%	−15%
Chickens	534,000	158	0%	−41%
Cattle	517,450	121	0.03%	−4.2%
Asses	141,951	31	0.26%	+37%
Horses	73,968	54	0.13%	+34%
Pigs	35,490	131	0%	−44%
Mules and hinnies	1,519	48	0.02%	−39%

Lesotho among the world’s producers, 2024

Share of world production by country for the largest crops of Lesotho, 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

Lesotho had 2.3 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
Cow milk	77.9	97.7	0.8×
Potatoes	56.8	47.8	1.2×
Maize	24.1	149	0.2×
Beer	16.9	22.7	0.7×
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	14.0	34.5	0.4×
Other fruits, n.e.c.	6.41	4.81	1.3×
Wool, greasy	3.49	0.21	16.8×
Sorghum	2.68	7.87	0.3×
Game meat, fresh, chilled or frozen	2.45	0.25	9.8×
Wheat	1.79	97.8	0.0×
Beans, dry	0.65	3.71	0.2×
Hen eggs	0.58	11.5	0.1×

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

Trade in agricultural products, 2024

Lesotho reported exports of 23 and imports of 139 of the products covered here; it was the world’s largest exporter of other stone fruits.

Largest exports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Shorn wool, greasy, including fleece-washed shorn wool	5,659	USD 37.7 m	6.67	11 of 69
Beer of barley, malted	3,916	USD 2.6 m	0.65	78 of 149
True hemp, raw or retted	6	USD 2.4 m	398.17	28 of 42
Other stone fruits	1,477	USD 2.2 m	1.46	1 of 4
Tea leaves	278	USD 1.5 m	5.37	72 of 143
Raspberries	40	USD 50,000	1.25	31 of 54
Other stimulant, spice and aromatic crops, n.e.c.	308	USD 48,000	0.16	72 of 148
Wheat	140	USD 48,000	0.34	78 of 102
Maize (corn)	137	USD 46,000	0.34	97 of 137
Beans, dry	14	USD 30,000	2.14	126 of 139

Largest imports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Maize (corn)	99,878	USD 34.2 m	0.34	86 of 190
Cotton lint, ginned	14,742	USD 25.8 m	1.75	23 of 148
Wheat	63,920	USD 22.3 m	0.35	125 of 176
Skim milk of cows	14,196	USD 12.6 m	0.89	18 of 176
Raw cane or beet sugar (centrifugal only)	11,594	USD 11.7 m	1.01	75 of 183
Sunflower-seed oil, crude	7,655	USD 10.7 m	1.40	101 of 186
Beer of barley, malted	15,116	USD 10.0 m	0.66	85 of 192
Other stimulant, spice and aromatic crops, n.e.c.	1,898	USD 7.0 m	3.67	66 of 191
Wine	2,730	USD 5.2 m	1.92	107 of 192
Meat of pig with the bone, fresh or chilled	2,564	USD 4.6 m	1.81	57 of 168

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 Lesotho?

By volume, the largest products of Lesotho in 2024 were cow milk (182,000 t), potatoes (132,750 t), maize (56,443 t), according to FAOSTAT.

Is Lesotho the world’s largest producer of anything?

Not in 2024. Its highest world rank was 7th, for donkey meat.

How much cow milk does Lesotho produce per person?

About 77.9 kg per inhabitant in 2024, compared with a world average of 97.7 kg (production divided by population, FAOSTAT).

What does Lesotho export most?

By value, its largest agricultural exports in 2024 among the products covered here were shorn wool, greasy, including fleece-washed shorn wool (USD 37.7 m), beer of barley, malted (USD 2.6 m), true hemp, raw or retted (USD 2.4 m), according to FAOSTAT.

What does Lesotho import most?

By value, its largest agricultural imports in 2024 among the products covered here were maize (corn) (USD 34.2 m), cotton lint, ginned (USD 25.8 m), wheat (USD 22.3 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.