… producers face additional pressure from rising feed costs
Namibia’s pig slaughter declined to its lowest monthly level in more than four years in September 2026, falling by 34.06% year-on-year to 3,270 pigs as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) movement restrictions disrupted livestock marketing.
According to the Livestock and Livestock Products Board’s (LLPB) October 2026 Beef and Pork Market Watch report, slaughter numbers also dropped by 26.35% from August, reaching their lowest level since July 2022.
The decline coincided with restrictions imposed following the confirmation of an FMD outbreak in the //Kharas Region on 23 September 2026.
The restrictions affected the movement of cloven-hoofed animals, including pigs, disrupting livestock marketing during the final eight days of September.
The sharp decline in slaughter numbers resulted in a 29.9% year-on-year reduction in estimated pork production to approximately 306 tonnes.
However, the impact on production was partly offset by an increase in average carcass weight to 93.49 kilogrammes, compared with 87.90 kilogrammes in September 2025 and 91.66 kilogrammes in August 2026.
Despite the September contraction, cumulative pig marketing increased by 3.48% to 40,544 pigs during the first nine months of 2026, compared with 39,179 during the corresponding period last year.
All pigs marketed during the period were slaughtered locally, with no live exports recorded, compared with 211 pigs exported during the first nine months of 2025.
“Year to date, total pig marketing increased by 3.48% to 40,544 head, from 39,179 head in January–September 2025. All pigs marketed in 2026 were slaughtered locally, as no live pigs were exported, compared with 211 head exported in 2025,” the report stated.
Excluding live exports, slaughter at B&C class abattoirs increased by 4.04% from 38,968 pigs recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
Meanwhile, the Board-approved pork ceiling price remained unchanged at N$47.61 per kilogramme in September, following an 8.65% downward adjustment at the beginning of the third quarter.
The calculated pork ceiling price increased by 3.15% month-on-month to N$39.21 per kilogramme, marking its first monthly increase since March 2026. However, it remained 17.91% below its September 2025 level.
“The Board-approved PCP was therefore N$8.40/kg above the calculated price,” the report stated.
The LLPB also highlighted rising feed costs as an additional pressure facing pork producers.
Yellow maize prices increased by 10.93% year-on-year to N$3,990.15 per tonne, while soybean prices rose by 22.49% to N$8,823.95 per tonne.
The Board warned that continued increases in the prices of these key feed ingredients could push the calculated pork ceiling price higher, placing further pressure on production costs in the domestic pork industry.
