Namibian weaner producers are grappling with rising costs against dropping prices, as pressure mounts on the value chain.
According to the latest issue of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) newsletter, Namibia can only consume about 30% of the meat it produces, making it reliant on both regional and international export markets.
This has forced Namibian producers to export weaners, mostly to South Africa.
The Red Meat Industry Report, prepared by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy and released by Red Meat Industry Services, estimates that 2.8 million head of cattle were slaughtered in South Africa last year.
The Livestock Producers Organisation (LPO), an affiliate of NAU, estimates that Namibia exported about 180 000 live head of cattle to South Africa last year, a year marked by emergency marketing and further herd liquidation.
“This represented approximately 6.4% of the cattle slaughtered in South Africa,” says the NAU.
The union further says between 2022 and 2024, South Africa slaughtered a total of 7.85 million head of cattle, with Namibia having exported a total of 468 000 live head of cattle, accounting for 5.9% of the total slaughter in South Africa during that period.
“Despite Namibian weaner exports making up only around 6% of total head of cattle slaughtered in South Africa, there were emotional claims at the start of 2025 that imports of weaners from Namibia were contributing to the low weaner prices in South Africa,” notes the newsletter.
“The reality is that Namibian weaner producers, like their South African counterparts, are facing severe financial pressure. According to production cost analyses conducted by the LPO, weaner production in 2023 and 2024 operated at a loss when accounting for land, taxes and management costs.
The primary reason for this is that costs have increased by 61% since 2017, mainly due to international conflicts, while the weaner price has decreased by 23% over the same period.
As a result, producers have been forced to seek alternative income sources or reduce their breeding herds to survive.
The union says the profit drivers of an extensive primary meat producer are limited to stocking rate/ha, the efficiency of converting grass to meat, price/kg and cost/ha.
The LPO continuously provides its members with information on how to use these levers to produce more effectively and is consistently engaging its counterparts in South Africa and Botswana to ensure mutual understanding and address matters of common interest.
The union noted that Namibia has a strong focus on exporting meat to international markets and four beef export abattoirs will be operational in 2026.
“Although South Africa will remain an important market for weaners, local market competition is expected to increase and weaner exports to South Africa are projected to decline in the long-term,” says the NAU.
Everyone is waiting for the recovery of consumer purchasing power, after which an increase in weaner prices is expected.
– email: matthew@namiban.com.na
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