Local pig producers lose 2% market share to imports

Pork imports to Namibia grew at a rate that was twice that of local production in the country during the first quarter of this year.According to the latest statistics from the Meat Board of Namibia, the sheep and goat sectors all registered positive growth rates during the first quarter of this year; however, the pig sector recorded a slight decline in marketing but posted a positive growth in production due to an increase in average slaughter mass.It said pig slaughtering for the first quarter of this year totalled 10 935 heads, which is 1.68% less than the 11 122 recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.“Although a relatively lower number of pigs was slaughtered in the first quarter of 2022, production increased by 7.01% due to an increase in the average mass of pigs slaughtered resulting in a higher meat yield,” the Meat Board said.On the other hand, pork imports grew by 14.61%, a rate twice that of local pork production, resulting in a loss of a 2% market share from local producers to imports.Total pork imports - including processed products - amounted to 1 563 tons, with a combined 71.52% of this total consisting of pork carcasses (20.21%), pork cuts (8.85%) and pork offal (42.46%). The remainder of imports consisted of cooked pork and uncooked processed pork (26.85%), smoked pork products (1.50%) as well as bacon (0.13%).Sheep sectorA total of 108 245 sheep was marketed during the first quarter of 2022.This is 26.28% more than the 85 352 sheep marketed during the same period last year.The performance of the sheep sector was mainly driven by live exports of sheep to South Africa, the board said.“A noticeable trend in the local market is the movement of sheep from export approved abattoirs to butchers.”The Meat Board added that due to minimal slaughter activity at export abattoirs, sheep exports in the first quarter totalled 59 tons.“However, this still recorded a notable increase of 35% compared to 44 tons recorded in the first quarter of last year.”Goat sectorThe total marketing of goats increased from 17 076 to 23 184 during the first quarter of this year.“Although goat slaughtering decreased with 94.26%, the overall marketing increased following the positive trend in live goat exports which saw a 35.77% growth,” the Meat Board said.It added that goat marketing continues to be traditionally dominated by live exports to the Kwazulu-Natal province of South Africa.Goat slaughtering declined significantly, reducing its share from 11% in 2021 to 0% in 2022, it said.

Local pig producers lose 2% market share to imports

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-03

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Local pig producers lose 2% market share to imports

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-03

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