Woermann Brock Group is calling on local egg producers to supply their supermarkets country wide as a way of promoting local small-scale businesses.
This invitation came from the group’s senior buyer responsible for perishables and pet care, Charl Fouche.
“We are actively looking to expand our network and partner with reliable local egg suppliers who can deliver consistent quality and volume.
“This is our way of supporting local producers in all regions of the country to grow and meet commercial standards,” he said.
He said the group is not experiencing any egg shortages as they always have supplies from established bigger local companies, but had changed focus to support small producers as part of the group’s key performance indicator.
Fouche said Woermann Brock does not intend importing any eggs because they believe the country produces enough for local demand.
“Importing eggs would defeat the purpose for which we are establishing this partnership. Moreover, with the foot-and-mouth disease crisis in South Africa, importing farm products from there would not be in the best interests of Namibia,” he said.
Fouche said while specific supply figures would be discussed with individual farmers, they are looking at a minimum of 1 200 eggs per producer, with focus on the north and the south of the country.
He said the group’s 66 stores across the country, excluding liquor and cash & carry outlets, sell between 6 000 and 10 000 eggs a month.
Fouche said besides eggs, they might consider putting fresh milk and fresh cream under a similar scheme.
“And may be if there are people doing cheeses as well . . . and all those niche lines that are difficult to import from South Africa,” he said, adding that interested producers can email him their business details at charlf@wb.com.na
The Poultry Producers Association (PPA) welcomed the initiative saying Woermann Brock had taken a step in the right direction.
PPA vice president Erastus Kadhikwa said this is in line with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s call to grow local industries.
“There is no panic among the big producers because there is enough room in the sector for SMEs to grow,” he said.
Kadhikwa said as eggs are a controlled product, everyone can have a share of the market.
“This is a noble call to grow the local producers so that they can move from the informal to the formal sector where they can also use the country’s institutions like banks in conducting their growing businesses.
“Local farmers can now have a stable market for their produce,” he said, calling every patriotic citizen to buy local, buy Namibian.” – email: matthew@namibian.com.na
