New markets open for Namibian beef

Namibia has just joined the list of countries that are authorised to export beef to the United States despite previous resistance from American meat industry groups.
In a final rule published last week the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), said it is amending the meat inspection regulations to add Namibia to the list of countries eligible to export meat and meat products to the United States.
Namibia will be eligible to export boneless beef products such as primal cuts, chucks, blade and beef trimmings to the US, with projections estimating about 862 metric tons, increasing to about 5 670 tons in 2019.
According to FSIS it has reviewed Namibia’s laws, regulations and inspection system as implemented and determined that they are equivalent to the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the United States food safety system for meat and meat products.
“Under this final rule, Namibia will only be able to export to the United States boneless (not ground) raw beef products, such as primal cuts, chuck, blade, and beef trimmings, processed in certified Namibian establishments, because FSIS only assessed Namibia’s meat inspection system with respect to these products,” it said.
According to FSIS Namibia would need to submit additional information for FSIS to review before FSIS would allow Namibia to export other beef product or product from other types of livestock to the United States.
The US exports appeared to be in doubt after the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) and National Farmers Union (NFU) last year filed objections over the plans by FSIS to add Namibia to the list of countries eligible to export meat products to the US.
The major concern that was raised by the associations was the fact that Namibia had an FMD outbreak last year.
However it the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) has been declared FMD free on January 22, 2016 in accordance with international animal health regulations.
The FMD outbreak was the first outbreak in some 30 years and no new cases have been reported since June 22.
Meanwhile, Meatco has finally received approval from China to start beef exports to that country, following negotiations on the types of meat that can be exported, market trends and the storage requirement for shipping to Asia. According to Meatco it now has to decide on when and how much Namibian beef will be exported to China.
In January 2016, the Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) of China visited Meatco to conduct an audit on the facilities and to collect documentation for the possible export of Meatco products to the Asian market.
According to Marketing and Sales Executive Cyprianus Khaiseb, Meatco is busy sorting out the trading licence with the regulatory body that is responsible for providing the import licence. “We believe this is the last step in the process before export can start,” Khaiseb says.
It is necessary to go through the administrative processes before final approval is rubber stamped for Meatco, Khaiseb adds.
Operationally Meatco and the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) at plant and national level are dealing with protocol in terms of regulations and specifications for export. Some of the concerns being ironed out relate to the 60 days requirement for cattle before slaughter and how this will be handled throughout the process, the labelling of products and certification by DVS.
Meatco is hopeful that meat exports to the lucrative Chinese market, with a beef consumption of more than 9 million tons annually, will go ahead as planned. Once approval is granted, Namibia will be the first country in Africa to qualify for beef-in-bone exports to China.
Meatco intends to request that government renegotiate with China to add vacuum-packed fresh beef to the product list. Vacuum-packed chilled beef and offal are sought-after products in the Chinese market, fetching premium prices.

ELLANIE SMIT