Meatco chief: More players, better beef
The Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) says the emergence of privately operated abattoirs is not a hindrance but will actually enhance the agricultural value chain.
Speaking to Network Media Hub, Meatco interim chief executive Ambassador Albertus Aochamub welcomed the emergence of Savanna Beef Processors, which recently received accreditation to export to the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom, and earlier entrant Beefcor, which also exports to the EU, the UK, Norway and South Africa.
Net positive effect
The net effect for Namibia, Aochamub said, was better prices for producers, the creation of sustainable jobs in the agricultural value chain, increased foreign exchange earnings and the export of value-added goods beyond what Meatco alone could have achieved.
"Firstly, the farmers will always get a competitive price because all of us have to compete on price. Secondly, Namibian red meat goes around the world because everybody exports value-added products, [and] it is good because we create jobs and sustainability in the sub-sectors of agriculture, and that speaks directly to what this administration has put emphasis on," Aochamub said.
Collaboration an advantage
Meatco was also collaborating with private abattoirs as it sought to enhance the agricultural value chain, Aochamub said.
"There is more collaboration than there is actually competition and that is going to be the model going forward, because we cannot expect to kill each other, and assume whoever is emerging victorious is going to carry all the load of what producers in this country expect," Aochamub said.
"We will compete, but we will collaborate a lot more because we have one common objective, and that is to put Namibian beef products on the markets so we can realise good prices," he added.
The emergence of private abattoirs would not affect its future as a going concern either, Aochamub stressed, saying Meatco remained the benchmark.
"We set the price, we set the benchmark and everybody else follows. We are not followers in this market in that sense. This is important because many people panic making the assumption that Meatco will be dead," he said.
Meatco here to stay
While other public enterprises often fell by the wayside because of new entrants, Aochamub said that would not be the case for Meatco.
"To the contrary, Meatco is going to be around for a long time. I say this not as a statement that one expresses to brag, to show off, or be arrogant or conceited. It is a very competitive space and it will be more competitive now because you have so many players."
