Chinese queue up for Nam beef
Namibian beef appears to be very popular with Chinese consumers with a steady increase in orders.
Meatco has produced nearly 2 000 tonnes of Namibian beef for the Chinese market.
This follows the first consignment of 21 tonnes that was sent to China, making Namibia the first African country to export beef to the Asian giant.
According to Meatco, after this initial consignment, a total of 83 containers have been produced for China at its factory to date.
These containers are, on average, 24 tonnes.
“In total, approximately 1 965 tonnes were produced,” according to Meatco.
The company said future consignments will depend on customer orders and are ongoing.
“At this stage, we do not want to pre-empt, but orders are coming in on a daily basis and there is obviously an increase in the orders.”
Meatco stressed that China is still a new market. “Once we have stayed in the market for more than a year, then we will start to estimate how much will be going in, moving forward.
“Namibian beef is exceptional. They like it. Customers are queuing for Namibian beef products,” Meatco said.
Namibia in 2016 became one of the first countries to be approved for the export of beef to China. However, two months after the agreement there was an outbreak of lumpy skin disease in Namibia.
According to the agreement signed between the two governments, once any disease - either skin disease or foot-and-mouth - breaks out, beef exports must be terminated for at least one year.
From 2016 to the first half of 2017, Namibia saw lumpy skin disease outbreaks in the FMD-free zone, notably in Otjozondjupa and Kunene, situated south of the veterinary cordon fence, and Omaheke.
However, Meatco said these outbreaks had been contained through vaccinations, and were declared over in May 2017.
Namibia and China in 2017 made commitments to remove the lumpy skin disease condition in their old agreement, which blocks the export of beef to China, and a year later signed an agreement making the export of Namibian beef to China possible.
Meatco's first consignment of Namibian beef was finally exported to China in March this year.
ELLANIE SMIT
This follows the first consignment of 21 tonnes that was sent to China, making Namibia the first African country to export beef to the Asian giant.
According to Meatco, after this initial consignment, a total of 83 containers have been produced for China at its factory to date.
These containers are, on average, 24 tonnes.
“In total, approximately 1 965 tonnes were produced,” according to Meatco.
The company said future consignments will depend on customer orders and are ongoing.
“At this stage, we do not want to pre-empt, but orders are coming in on a daily basis and there is obviously an increase in the orders.”
Meatco stressed that China is still a new market. “Once we have stayed in the market for more than a year, then we will start to estimate how much will be going in, moving forward.
“Namibian beef is exceptional. They like it. Customers are queuing for Namibian beef products,” Meatco said.
Namibia in 2016 became one of the first countries to be approved for the export of beef to China. However, two months after the agreement there was an outbreak of lumpy skin disease in Namibia.
According to the agreement signed between the two governments, once any disease - either skin disease or foot-and-mouth - breaks out, beef exports must be terminated for at least one year.
From 2016 to the first half of 2017, Namibia saw lumpy skin disease outbreaks in the FMD-free zone, notably in Otjozondjupa and Kunene, situated south of the veterinary cordon fence, and Omaheke.
However, Meatco said these outbreaks had been contained through vaccinations, and were declared over in May 2017.
Namibia and China in 2017 made commitments to remove the lumpy skin disease condition in their old agreement, which blocks the export of beef to China, and a year later signed an agreement making the export of Namibian beef to China possible.
Meatco's first consignment of Namibian beef was finally exported to China in March this year.
ELLANIE SMIT
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