Tough challenges eat into beef industry

THE local slaughter and beef processing industry is running a ‘real risk of being completely marginalised’ because of ‘uncontrolled export’ of animals, Meatco chairman Clara Bohitile has warned.

In her review in the corporation’s 2010-11 financial report, released last week, Bohitile said if left unattended, ‘it will lead to the Namibian beef industry essentially reverting to a live cattle exporting industry’.This, in turn, will cause less value addition, penetration of premium export markets and job losses, she said.Bohitile said slaughter animals south of the Veterinary Cordon Fence, or Red Line, continued dropping last year. The situation was worsened by ‘aggressive buying’ of live animals by South African feedlots, as well as live exports to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).’The export of female animals on the hoof to Angola and the DRC should be considered with care if the beef industry is not to face extinction, much as the ostrich industry did in the late 1990s,’ Bohitile said.In the same report, Kobus du Plessis, chief executive officer of Meatco, said there is significant excess capacity in Namibia, particularly in the export abattoir sector. Should the current development of more abattoir capacity in the country continue, it will hurt the meat industry, he said.’The slaughtering industry will come under severe pressure in the future, and this could result in a further decrease in producer prices,’ Du Plessis said.Also of concern, he said, is that the local ox producer, who has much higher production costs, has to compete directly against the South African feedlots for weaners.Du Plessis said Meatco has put strategies in place to counter obstacles in its way. ‘Success can clearly be seen in the Ekwatho Finance Scheme, and the marketing strategy, to name but a few,’ he said.Bohitile called for unity in the industry.’We need to put an end to in-fighting and fragmentation; all stakeholders need to adopt a national focus and strategy to develop and protect the value-added export business and to stimulate slaughter production,’ she said.* More agriculture news inside.