Agriculture Minister Calle Schlettwein has dismissed safety concerns raised against Namibian beef products exported from the Northern Communal Area (NCA) abattoirs to Ghana.
“We can thus confirm that the Namibian beef exports from the Northern Communal Areas do not carry the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and pose no risk of introducing the disease in the market countries, in particular the Ghanaian market. These allegations are indeed a deliberate misrepresentation, and the Ministry condemns these false misrepresentations and their agitators, to the extent that this is propagated by any individual, groups or organizations,” the minister said.
“The Government of the Republic of Namibia has put in place a strict livestock production and animal movement regulatory framework, vaccination program as well as investing in abattoir facilities in the NCAs to provide an enabling environment for safe and reliable market access for producers in these areas. All beef exports from the NCAs are exported under the Commodity-Based Trade from the export-approved abattoirs, based on the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) standards.”
He said Namibian beef exports to Ghana will continue unabated after the ministry engaged the country’s government over the safety concerns.
“The allegations and efforts to jeopardize market access for Namibian beef into Ghana had been brought to our attention through the Bi-national Commission meeting held in Accra late last year. It was resolved that they are groundless, and the matter was thus resolved, and continued market access for Namibian beef into Ghana remains uninterrupted,” Schlettwein said.
“The Ministry wishes to assure the Ghanaian market, all our markets and the Namibian public that the Namibian beef products from the NCA abattoirs are as disease-free as similar products from commercial areas of the country. Notably, the Government of the Republic of Namibia wishes to applaud and renew its compliments to the Government and people of the Republic of Ghana for the implementation of the agreement on cooperation and trade in the field of agriculture and for debunking these false representations.”
Namibia’s first consignment of Namibian beef from the NCA arrived at Tema port in Accra, Ghana last year in June.
The shipment consisted of 14 tonnes of beef from Meatco’s Katima Mulilo Abattoir, imported by Abanga Farms and Food Systems, a Ghanaian company which has signed a contract with Meatco as a sole distributor. The Ghanaian company is targeting to also distribute the beef in West Africa.
The development came as Meatco continues to scout for beef export markets for farmers from the Northern Communal Areas (NCA).
The NCA, which comprises Zambezi, Kavango East, Kavango West, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, and Kunene regions, is a livestock-rich part of Namibia with approximately 1.6 million cattle representing 64% of the national cattle herd estimated to be at 2.5 million.
