Savanna Beef reached a new milestone after the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform issued the company an export abattoir certificate on Thursday, paving the way for full-scale slaughter operations to begin.
The company will export matured deboned chilled/frozen beef cuts to the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Board chairperson Mecki Schneider, in a brief note on Thursday to members of the Beef Value Chain Forum and shareholders of Savanna Beef, said slaughter would start today.
“The task team and board of Savanna Beef are delighted to inform you that we have just received the export certification – as a beef export abattoir with establishment approval number NA37 – to the UK, the EU and EFTA countries.
“This has been a big milestone and one of the main focus points over the last three years, and it will also be the first cattle slaughtered that were traded on the Namibia Securities Exchange under the newly implemented slaughter right trading system,” he said.
A total of 927 Savanna Beef Operations slaughter rights traded on the Namibia Securities Exchange’s over-the-counter platform on 16 March, the first trading day of the first quarter, at N$300 per right.
The company aims to prevent the export of 50 000 weaners to South African feedlots a year and instead slaughter them locally. This aligns with the country’s ‘Growth at Home’ vision.
Savanna Beef chief executive Ian Collard was quoted in the media last year as saying Savanna Beef, a producer-driven export beef processor, is not here to compete with other players in the Namibian beef industry, but to simply serve the needs of shareholders – as per their expectations – by purchasing shares in the company.
The entity has about 730 shareholders who have invested about N$400 million into the company to date, including N$290 million in private equity funding, which was recently bolstered by an additional N$40 million from BPF Windsor Holdings Ltd.
“The main purpose is to rather export 50 000 less live weaners to feedlots in South Africa annually and slaughter them later locally, after they reach the correct age and weight at a higher fiscal value.
“This will greatly enhance the local economy, especially the rural economies, as quite a lot of our shareholders are farming/producing cattle in the rural areas of Namibia,” he said.
Collard added that the number of abattoirs in Namibia is growing, with Savanna Beef, Reho Abattoir and others coming into production alongside older abattoirs.
“This will enable the country to expand the production of export beef, leading to less exports of weaners in the future and more value addition within the local market. We are mainly disease-free, and this is an advantage that must be managed and protected, as this is giving us access to more lucrative markets,” he said.
The company plans to employ around 240 people when in full operation.
In a statement on Friday, the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) welcomed Savanna Beef’s certification as an export-approved beef establishment.
“This development reflects growing confidence in Namibia’s livestock sector and strengthens the country’s collective export capacity.
“As a national industry player, Meatco believes that sustainable growth in the beef sector will be driven by collaboration, value addition, and shared commitment to Namibian producers,” the statement says, adding that there was enough scope for more Namibian players on the export market.
Meatco says they look forward to engaging constructively with all industry participants, including new entrants, to advance local value addition within Namibia; strengthen market access and export competitiveness; and support fair and sustainable returns for farmers.
“At a time when the sector continues to face pressure from live cattle exports with limited domestic value addition, it is increasingly important that we work together to ensure that more value is retained within Namibia, for the benefit of producers, workers, and the broader economy,” Meatco says. – email: matthew@namibian.com.na
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