Martin Endjala
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, is set to auction about 147 cattle on 17 July.
This is according to a public notice by the ministry last week.
The notice stated that this is a combined slaughter cattle and production event, along with a small livestock auction, specifically for the Omatjenne and Okomumbonde research settlements located in the Otjozondjupa region.
The animals that will be sold include Slaughter Sanga Cross Oxen, 25 commercial Sanga cows, and heifers. There are 30 Slaughter Sanga Oxen and 3 Commercial Bonsmara Cows.
13 Slaughter Simmentaler Oxen, 4 Commercial Simbra Cows, 8 Slaughter Bonsmara Oxens, 11 Commercial Simmentaler Cows, 6 Slaughter Simbra Oxens, and 6 Commercial Braunvein Cross Cows.
This list also includes 2 calves, 1 Slaughter Afrikaner Ox,16 16 commercial Damara sheep ewes, and 21 commercial Boergoay ewes.
“Only 24 hours is allowed to pay and to remove the animals, while they are kept at their own risk at the government property. Failure to do so, you forfeit your bid,” read the notice.
Last year, the Namibian Sun reported that the auction prices for livestock reached the lowest levels since the start of the last rainy season.
This was attributed to the small demand for Namibian weaners from South Africa and the below-average rainy season.
The average price of cows with calves fell over the period from N$11 577 to N$11 191, and the same year in May, it was still at N$12 992.
The auction price for sheep also fell from more than N$32 per kg in January 2023, to around N$30 per kg.
Slaughter prices improved, with Beefcor paying the highest price of between N$62 and N$64 per kg for A to C grades.
Questions sent to the ministry’s spokesperson, Jona Musheko, about whether the slaughtering and auctioning of livestock is attributed to the current ongoing drought, proved futile at the time of publication.
