The country’s beef exports increased by 112.5% in February following a 138.2% increase in cattle marketing by producers to abattoirs, latest data shows.
The surge in cattle marketing has been attributed to favourable prices paid by export abattoirs.
In the period under review, 65% of processed beef exports were sold to Europe, mainly Norway and the United Kingdom, with 22% sold to the rest of Africa, mainly South Africa, Eswathini and Botswana while the remaining 13% was sold to China.
Namibia became the first African country to export beef to the US under the African Growth Opportunity Act and to date, 720 tonnes of beef products have been exported to the country. In March of 2019, Namibia also received approval to access the lucrative Chinese market.
Official figures show that live cattle exports increased by 30.1% year on year, sheep up 46.3% y/y, with pigs volumes increasing by 68.4% y/y in February 2022.
Cattle marketing increased by 21.7% year on year during the period, sheep sales increased by 11.1%, goats were up 53.7%, while pigs sales declined by 5.5%.
Year to date average auction prices according to the Meat Board increased from N$32.11/kg to N$34.05/kg for cattle, decreased from N$38.29/kg to N$35.54/kg for sheep, decreased from N$40.71/kg to N$38.50/kg for goats and decreased from N$37.88/kg to N$35.72/kg for pigs compared to the same period last year.
Sheep slaughtering resumed in February 2022, adding to the 11.1% increase in sheep marketing for the month, while sheep meat imports to be processed in Namibia declined in comparison to 2021, as export facilities continue to operate below economically sustainable levels according to the Meat Board.
According to the Namibian Agronomic Board, vegetable product average retail prices have increased by 13% between December 2021 and end of January 2022.
Simonis Storm forecasts rising food prices to be the second biggest driver of local inflation in 2022, after rising fuel prices.
“Higher global prices will filter through to countries with a food import requirement such as Namibia. We reiterate that we do believe high input costs will weigh on farmers’ profit margins and potentially lead to higher fruit and vegetable prices in coming months.â€
According to the Namibia Statistic’s Agency data, livestock farming contributed nearly N$6.3 billion to the nominal GDP, an increase of nearly N$1.1 billion year on year.
Namibia sold a total of 225 734 cattle in 2021, a 10% decline from the 250 441 in 2020, a position attributed to supply constraints in the industry.
