Namibia’s pork imports have surged by a whopping 66%, with a total of 892,080kg imported in January 2023 compared to 537,411kg in the same period last year.
This growth is due to limited local pork production, resulting in the sector supplementing the shortfall with imports.
According to the Meat Board of Namibia’s monthly statistics report, the ongoing ban on pork imports from South Africa has caused a shortage in the market, prompting the implementation of the Pork Market Share Promotion Scheme to aid local producers in accessing the market.
The average pork ceiling price in January 2023 was N$49.50/kg, which represents an increase of N$12.74/kg from the January 2022 level.
On the other hand, Namibia’s beef exports decreased by 31.5% in January 2023, falling from 497,178kg in January 2022 to 340,354kg this year. Of the total beef exported in January 2023, 63.3% went to the European Union market, 21.5% to the United Kingdom, 6.9% to China, and the remaining 2.0% to South Africa.
Beef imports also decreased by 55.6%, with figures standing at 61,607kg in January 2023 compared to 138,779kg imported in the same period in 2022. Of these imports, 42.6% originated from the USA, 37.6% from South Africa, 11.4% from Ireland, and 8.5% from the UK.
In the sheep sector, imports amounted to 9,475kg in January 2023 compared to 40,648kg of mutton imported during the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, sheep marketing grew by 4.2%, with 20,727 sheep marketed in January 2023 compared to 19,839 in the same period in 2022.
