Namibia has successfully negotiated export market access for the country’s beef and lamb to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) has announced.
According to the Executive Director of the MAWL, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, beef from approved abattoirs in the Northern Communal Areas will be exported to Qatar, while beef and lamb from south of the VCF will be exported to the United Arab Emirates
This comes as the ministry undertook missions to the Middle East to explore the market and negotiate with veterinary competent authorities of the UAE and the Minister of Public Health in Qatar.
She said the missions had explored the import, animal health and veterinary public health requirements to export Namibian meat from both North and South of the Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF).
“The visit negotiated successfully on the import requirements for exportation of beef from the approved abattoirs in the Northern Communal Areas to Qatar, and exportation of the beef and lamb from South of the VCF to the United Arab Emirates,” Nghituwamata said.
She further explained that discussions were also held with the Halal Accreditation authorities of UAE and Qatar as well as other major stakeholders and role players in the meat industry value chain of each country.
“This was followed by further consultations between the directorate of veterinary services with its counterparts in both countries which resulted in obtaining the veterinary export health certificates for the export of meat,” she said.
Speaking on the process of obtaining an export license for local abattoirs, Nghituwamata said Namibian establishments should engage the Halal certifying bodies as approved by the UAE and Qatar in order to receive accreditation for compliance with UAE and Qatari halal laws before they export.
Namibia’s beef export industry is currently served by abattoirs operated by Meatco and BeefCor, which export to the European Union, China, and the United States.
A new entrant, Savanna Beef, is also constructing a beef export abattoir, further expanding the country’s capacity to meet international demand.
The agriculture ministry in August also announced that it was at an advanced stage of concluding an agreement which will see the country exporting small livestock such as goat and sheep meat to China.
