Bone-in beef to Zimbabwe
Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Namibia, Her Excellency Chipo Zindoga and Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Hon. John Mutorwa during the announcement of bone-in-beef to Zimbabwe. (Photograph by Hilmah Hashange)
The plight of farmers from the Northern Communal areas and those involved in the Community Based Rangeland and Livestock Management (CBRLM) project has finally been aleviated as they will soon benefit from a once-off quota of 1000 tons of beef spread over a 20-month period with a monthly quota not exceeding 50 tons.
This is the first time the country is exporting bone-in beef as it only exports boneless beef to South Africa. On 1 October, Zimbabwe issued permits to the CBRLM farmers to slaughter 5000 cattle. The meat will be slaughtered at the Meatco Oshakati abattoir, an export rated slaughter facility.
Although meat from these areas are prone to Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Zimbabwe has agreed to import the bone-in beef from the FMD protection zone after safety measures were taken.
“Despite its economic challenges, Zimbabwe has agreed to open its markets for our beef, in response to our plea for assistanc during this current drought year.The opening of this door is not by any means one sided. We shall look forward to reciprocal trade for the mutual benefit of our two countries,” said the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Hon. John Mutorwa.
Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Namibia, Her Excellency Chipo Zindoga, echoed Mutorwa’s call and urged the two countries to achieve regional integration. “ I also hope that our Namibian brothers and sisters will look at importing products like pork, chicken, fruits and vegetables which are in demand in the northern areas of this country. There is an abundance of these products in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Currently, a business delegation lead by the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) is in Zimbabwe to explore trade and investment opportunities.
