Staff Writer
Meatco says it plans to export meat produced from its Northern Communal Areas (NCA) abattoirs to countries in SADC.
Meatco Chief Executive Officer, Mwilima Mushokobanji speaking after 100 days in office said the company had already started the process of ensuring that farmers in the NCA who have herds of over 1.1 million, also have access to the export markets.
“Recently, Cabinet directed Meatco to go back in the NCA to operate the Rundu Abattoir and also to assist the operators of Katima Mulilo and Oshakati abattoirs in order to provide a market for the farmers. The NCA abattoirs have been renovated to export standard and will be able to access niche markets in Africa and the Middle East through the Commodity Based Trade (CBT) approach. CBT is a process or procedure that enables beef from the areas susceptible to outbreak of FMD [to be exported],” he said.
“We engaged for example, with the DRC. We are now going to engage with Ghana. We are engaging with the Middle East, just like we did with the US. Our plan in the coming two months, we should be able to send our first assignments from the northern of the communal area into our regional markets. We sent some consignment four years ago, for example, to Zimbabwe, through the Africa Free Trade Agreement. So from where we are sitting, this is how we are driving transformation. These are the things that we are doing that have never been done before in the sector. And that’s how we want to mainstream the farmers from the NCA into the mainstream of the economy and improve their livelihood.”
Mushokobanji said the company was also planning to engage government to give preferential treatment to meat processed in the NCA when meat is being acquired for government institutions and for it to be sold around the country.
“The thinking is that we can engage with the government to give a directive that government itself is going to be a market especially after COVID-19 measures pass. By this I mean the schools, the prisons, the hotel’s the restaurants in the country, the retailers all of them, they should basically purchase their products from these abattoirs. The public procurement act 1672 provides preferential treatment to local suppliers. That’s what we have done to make sure that we create a market for the Northern of the communal area.”
This comes as the company appointed Kingsley Kwenani as the Meatco Northern Communal Area (Pty) Ltd CEO, a newly established Meatco subsidiary, 100 percent owned by Meatco.
Quizzed on progress regarding its US market, he said, “It’s too early to be talking about this newly established market. What I can tell is that our consignment arrived in the middle of deep COVID-19 times, where some of the food processors were under lockdown in the USA therefore, arriving at the much needed time. We continue to produce for our clients in the USA and we shall assess our performance in the USA towards the end of the year.”
The Meatco CEO said although the company has also not been spared by the negative impact of COVID-19, it’s still continuing with deliveries to its lucrative export markets, including meeting volumes for the Norway quota.
“We are conscious that Meatco is operating in the business environment which is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Therefore we had to be agile and adopt as a business, no one was ever ready for COVID-19. Meatco was listed as an essential service and business continued to operate as normal during this difficult time. One thing that I need to highlight is that although HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants and Caterers) are closed, people still need to eat as food and protein continues to be a basic necessity.
“The Norway quota is very strategic to the Meatco business as it the markets. We are certain that as we approach year-end we will have met our quota.”
Mushokobanji said despite exports contributing over 90 percent of its revenues, the company was also looking at increasing the company’s market share in the domestic market.
“Yes, definitely we have our own local brand namely MeatMa (Meat Market Africa) which was launched in 2014. MeatMa’s aim is to consistently provide the Namibian market with a “basket of proteins”, containing high quality products at affordable prices. This initiative forms part of the wider Meatco market diversification strategy and is in support of the Growth at Home Strategy. MeatMa products are available in 52 retail stores and restaurants countrywide, with our biggest distributors being Woermann Brock and Metro. Furthermore, In June 2019, Meatco introduced its Export Quality Brand which offers export quality beef in primal cuts such as rump, fillet striploin, silverside and topside, which usually are exported to the international markets. For the time being, the export quality products are available in Food Lovers Market outlets in Windhoek, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay,” he said.
Mushokobanji said the reclassification of Meatco as a Commercial Public Enterprise under Public Enterprises Governance Act has not impacted on its operations.
“The PEGA came into force during January 2020. As such we will work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform as well as the Ministry of Public Enterprises in terms of policy and strategic guidance. This change has not affected the business model of Meatco, therefore it is business as usual and we remain committed to make Meatco competitive, profitable and sustainable for the benefits of all our stakeholders,” he said.
