Meat industry grows slightly in January – Meat Board
The Meat Board of Namibia (MBN) recently reported that the meat industry grew slightly during January this year.
The MBN recorded a positive growth of 19%, with a total of 10,000 weaned calves exported to South Africa, despite an approximately N$5.39/kg drop in weaner price compared to January 2022.
However, the Board indicated that cattle marketed to abattoirs during January 2023 dropped by 9% to approximately 14,600 animals compared to January 2022.
Furthermore, MBN’s statistics also showed that beef carcass prices at export abattoirs averaged N$61.14/kg during January 2023 and should continue the upward trend until mid-2023.
In addition, the sheep sector is recovering with a growth of 4.2%, as 21,000 animals were marketed during January 2023 compared to 20,000 during January 2022, according to Meat Board statistics.
“Regarding sheep carcass prices, the average price differences between Northern Cape and Namibia abattoirs were still observed, with a difference of -N$7.74/kg, and at the same time, Namibian A2 sheep prices averaged N$75.59/kg, while the Northern Cape abattoirs averaged N$83.33/kg. Sheep prices should show an upward trend in 2023 due to the accessibility of rewarding markets,” MBN said in its latest Meat Flash.
In a related development, the Meat Board announced this month that its Farm Assured Namibian Meat Scheme (FAN Meat) section has successfully passed its annual International Standards Organization (ISO) audit conducted by an independent international certification organisation on 6 February 2023.
The main function of FAN Meat is to implement and maintain an ISO quality management system to improve overall service delivery and confirm the international credibility of the scheme.
