The aim is to add value
and bolster
local industry
Leonard Neill
THE EXPORT of livestock from Namibia to South Africa will be stopped from August next year following an order issued by the Namibian Department of Agriculture. Any stock farmer wishing to continue after that date will be heavily taxed, says agriculture minister Helmut Angula.
The aim is to add value to exports by giving business to local abattoirs which will slaughter animals in Namibia.
It will also create more jobs in the local meat processing and packing industries. This is in line with a statement issued recently by State President Sam Nujoma calling for the export of livestock on the hoof to be stopped in order to bolster the home economy by processing the meat in Namibia rather than South Africa.
Namibian cattle farmers export 90% of their animals live to South Africa.
According to Angula, Namibia is also negotiating access to the EU market for meat that contains bones, with the emphasis on lamb. This would provide a major increase in exporting volumes, he said.
EU regulations prohibit importation of bone-in meat from African sources because of fears of foot-and-mouth disease. But the Namibian government maintains that this theory is unfounded and the EU agricultural authorities are currently considering their request.
