The third quarter (Q3) of 2023 has seen a 102.65% increase in beef exports of 6,343 tonnes, surpassing the 2022 performance under the same period.
This resulted in an increase of 52% in slaughtered cattle, which rose from 59,957 in Q3 of 2022 to 91,154 in the current quarter.
“The improved performance in the sector was driven by a significant increase in the number of cattle slaughtered by export-approved abattoirs that more than doubled their slaughtering coupled with a rise in live exports. Butchers on the other hand reduced substantially during the third quarter of 2023,” said Fransina Angula, the Meat Board’s Statistician: Trade and Strategic Marketing.
In contrast, she said beef imports fell by 46.28% to 855.14 tonnes – a 49.55% decline from last year.
The imports basket consisted of processed meat and offal products.
Furthermore, the Rundu abattoir resumed slaughter activities in August 2023, with 632 animals slaughtered.
“Top destinations for Namibian beef during the quarter under review included the European Union, taking up 52.5% of exports while 22.19% went to South Africa. The United Kingdom, China and Norway absorbed 9.48%, 9.28% and 4.98%, respectively, while the remaining 1.56% was exported to regional markets. No exports were undertaken to the United States, Tanzania, DRC and Swaziland during the 2023 period,” Angula said.
Angula added that Namibia’s beef prices remained competitive, outperforming neighbouring South Africa.
The Namibian B2 cattle slaughter producer prices averaged N$61.65/kg during Q3, registering a 3.44% increase compared to the same quarter in 2022.
Year-to-date, the B2 average increased by 2.85% from N$60.57/kg in 2022 to N$62.30/kg in 2023.
This resulted in the decline of the weaner/B2 ratio from 57.50% to 41.97% during the period under review. This helped reduce the live exports market share from 59.64% in 2022 to 56.71% in 2023.
The latest Meat Board figures also show a growth in sheep exports by 60.94%, representing a total of 190 825 sheep marketed during Q3 of 2023 compared to 118 569 marketed in the same quarter last year.
“Meanwhile, slaughter activities in the export abattoir segment increased by 186.10% in Q3 of 2023 although, registering a decline of 75.25% quarter-on-quarter. This is attributed to a dip in slaughtering activities that performed poorly during August and September as no exports to Norway were undertaken during the last two months of Q3 of 2023,” she said.
“As a result, sheep prices at export abattoirs have slightly dropped from the last trading prices observed during the same period in 2022. A2 sheep prices averaged N$83.52/kg during Q3 of 2023 in comparison to N$83.66/kg observed in 2022. On the other hand, C2 sheep prices at export abattoirs declined drastically from N$63.15/kg observed during 2022 to N$44.88/kg in 2023.”
Because of reduced slaughtering, sheep meat exports slowed by 35.17%, quarter-on-quarter. However, year-on-year, exports grew by 276.02%.
Angula anticipates sheep meat exports to remain at lower levels during Q4 of 2023 due to depressed international prices coupled with improved local prices linked to festive season demand.
Goat Sector
The third quarter recorded improved performance in the goat sector with a total of 46,807 goats marketed, bringing year-to-date marketing to 104,824 goats, a 7.55% increase.
“A decline in goats slaughtering both north and south of the veterinary cordon fence was observed, including a reduction in live exports to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.”
Pork Sector
On the other hand, the pork sector dipped by 4.23% during the period under review.
Meat Board-registered pig abattoirs slaughtered 11,020 pigs that produced 1,060 tonnes. However, this production catered for 57.36% of local fresh pork consumption requirements, necessitating the import of 786 tonnes of fresh and processed pork to close the gap.
“Of the total volume of pork imports, 66.48% was composed of pork offal whereas pork cuts and cooked and uncooked processed pork made up 11.33%. The pork ceiling price has been fixed at N$51.03/kg as a mitigation strategy to counter the negative effects of the weakening pork prices.”
