Trade in python skins is a lucrative business with the globalexport market from Southeast Asia estimated at US$1 billion as of 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-20509720|title=Python skin trade worth a billion – and often illegal |last=McGrath|first=Matt |website=[[BBC News]] | name-list-style = vanc |date=2012-11-28|access-date=2019-03-14|language=en-GB}}</ref> Much of the trade is illegal, and python farming is very expensive.<ref>{{cite news | first = Victoria | last = Turk | name-list-style = vanc |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/snake-farms-could-tackle-the-billion-dollar-black-market-for-python-skin/|title=Snake Farms Could Tackle the Billion Dollar Black Market for Python Skin|date=2014-04-02|work=Motherboard|access-date=2019-03-14|language=en-us}}</ref> Pythons are poached for their meat, mostly consumed locally as [[bushmeat]] and their skin, which is sent to Europe and North America for manufacture of accessories like bags, belts and shoes.<ref name = "Jensen_2017">{{cite web|first=Timm Juul|last=Jensen|name-list-style=vanc|url=https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/09/05/large-snakes-are-on-the-menu-at-cameroons-nkoldongo-bushmeat-market/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108033842/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/09/05/large-snakes-are-on-the-menu-at-cameroons-nkoldongo-bushmeat-market/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 8, 2018|title=Large snakes are on the menu at Cameroon's Nkoldongo bushmeat market|work=National Geographic Society Newsroom|date=5 September 2017|access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref>
In [[Cameroon]] bushmeat markets, the [[Central African rock python]] (''Python sebae'') is sold for meat.<ref name = "Jensen_2017" /> Hunting, killing and selling pythons is illegal in [[Cameroon]] under national wildlife law, but there is little to no enforcement.<ref name = "Jensen_2017" />
