Patience Makwele
Agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani says Namibia is negotiating with trading partners over meat shipments caught up in the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, with authorities checking whether affected consignments can still move based on where the meat came from.
“The ministry is now in the process to negotiate and facilitate trade in animal and animal products where requirements can be met,” Zaamwani said in parliament on Wednesday.
Her response comes as the government investigates reports of a Namibian meat shipment being returned from Europe following the outbreak in //Kharas Region.
The issue was raised in the National Assembly by Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani on Tuesday, who said he had heard of a shipment worth about N$400 million that was on its way to Europe.
“We have heard that there is a shipment of meat that was en route to the shores of Europe worth N$400 million. I do not know whether it belongs to Savanna Beef or to Meatco,” Venaani said.
Zaamwani did not confirm the value of the shipment or whether it had been returned.
Instead, she said the government first needed to establish where the meat originated and whether it came from an area affected by FMD.
That determination will be important in discussions with importing countries, as their own veterinary and food-safety requirements will ultimately determine whether a consignment can enter their markets.
Zaamwani said the government had already started engaging trading partners about the outbreak and the movement of animal products.
She said the ministry was also using Namibia’s livestock traceability system to establish the movement history of animals and identify possible links to the outbreak.
The latest government assessment is that FMD has been detected on five farms, but remains localised to the Karasburg Veterinary District in //Kharas.
Livestock that had moved from an infected establishment to Otjozondjupa before the outbreak was detected were traced and tested. The herd was cleared after testing negative.
According to the minister, traceability and inspections have so far found no evidence of transmission risk north of the Veterinary Cordon Fence.
The government has consequently lifted restrictions on the movement of cloven-hoofed animals and their products within areas north of the fence, although specified movements from the south to the north remain restricted.
The partial lifting also allows processed animal products to move countrywide, while slaughter is permitted at abattoirs that meet veterinary requirements and source animals from approved feedlot or quarantine facilities.
The measures follow the confirmation of FMD in the Karasburg area last week, which triggered wider movement restrictions as veterinary authorities worked to determine how far the disease had spread.
Zaamwani said Namibia’s NamLITS traceability system had been central to the response, allowing veterinary authorities to trace animals, identify possible epidemiological links and assess where restrictions could safely be eased.
But she also warned that the response was putting pressure on veterinary resources.
Citing that the outbreak requires surveillance, field inspections, laboratory testing, livestock tracing, movement control and additional biosecurity measures, with the government expected to reprioritise resources or provide additional funding where necessary.
