National herd finally back at 2.5 million – 53,820 cattle slaughted year-to-date
With an average of 35,000 cattle slaughtered in the last two years, the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) indicated that throughput has remained a protracted challenge for the company in the past three years.
“This year, the national herd is finally back at 2.5 million as announced by the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Land Reform (MAWLR).”
This is according to a media release issued by the Meatco Corporate Communications Officer, Undamuje Hambira, who disclosed that to this end, Meatco slaughtered 53,820 cattle both from the south of the veterinary cordon fence (SVCF) and the Northern Communal Area (NCA), translating to 9 672 tonnes of beef sold year-to-date up until August 2023, locally and internationally.
As a result of that, according to Hambira, the institution recorded a revenue of N$775 million year-to-date in August 2023, of which N$600 million was paid to producers during the year under review.
“As part of our mandate as a commercial public enterprise, our primary role is to serve, promote, and coordinate the interests of livestock producers in Namibia and strive for the stabilisation of the meat industry in the national interest. As a result, and due to our public policy objective, we serve our farmers even in times of ravaging droughts to ensure that we support primary production. As a result of high volumes and changes experienced in critical logistical documentation and procedures, Meatco experienced delays in clearing consignments, and subsequently, the business experienced cash flow constraints to pay all producers within the established payment terms of 30 days,” the statement said.
However, the entity said this situation has been addressed all documentation has been shared with clients and consignments have been cleared safely for those still en route to their final destinations, and Meatco is currently catching up with all producer accounts in arrears.
Namibia remains the only country in Africa that can export to lucrative markets such as Norway, China, the USA, and the rest of Europe through Meatco.
