In East of Africa, the camel stock that counted around 11.8 millions of heads represented 62% of the world camel stock in 2006 (FAOSTAT, 2006). Less than 4.75% of this stock was slaughtered for the national consumption. The official annual exportation didn't exceed 41 thousands of heads. How to understand the gaps between the live capital and its economic development through the markets? The other socioeconomic functions within the pastoral systems are they sufficient to explain these gaps? The crossed analysis of different sources of data reveals important gaps. For example, the formal market was around 5,030 of heads from Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia (FAOSTAT, 2004). The official data of exportation from the Berbera and Bossasso Ports registered 7,636 heads in 2004. But according to estimation of the capacities of holding areas in Ethiopia, around 57,000 camels could be exported. From personal survey conducted in 2007 in the Somali region of Ethiopia, the exportations were estimated around 37,000 heads with a profit margin for the exporters from 22-33 US$. At the regional level, the official exportations would represent 10% of the potential. All these gaps between the sources of data but also between the data and the apparent reality raise a number of questions related to camel economic development and the lack of reliable data on the camel activity may explain that the camel remain often to the stage of emblem or myth of pastoral area although the reality is quite different. (Texte intégral)