Meatco adds Botswana to export basket
Meatco has shifted its focus to Botswana for the supply of offal products as it seeks to fetch better prices, Namibian Sun has established.
The news has sent ripples of panic among local retailers who rely on Meatco to buy their meat products for for resale, fearing that this move will deprive local buyers of offal products and oxtail.
In a recently issued notice, Meatco informed its stakeholders that it would no longer be providing offal products for sale.
“The following products are unavailable until further notice: liver, kidneys, tripe, oxtail, hearts and intestines,” the notice read.
Upon enquiry, an official – who preferred to remain anonymous – said: “They just gave that notice to the local retailers who always buy those products because they have better export opportunities in Botswana.”
Meatco, however, explained that the decision to target the Botswana market will not affect its commitment to serve the domestic market.
The cooperative would continue serving the local meat market as it has been doing thus far.
Profit maximisation
Justifying the decision to sell to the Botswana market, Meatco said its goal was profit maximisation.
“We are mandated to maximise returns per cut/product to ensure the best returns for Meatco and Namibian producers. Thus, maintaining a diversified client portfolio is by no means an infringement on Meatco's mandate,” the company said.
“We serve clients in Namibia with the above products from our wholesale and MeatMa outlets on a daily basis from all our abattoirs in Windhoek, Katima Mulilo and Rundu.”
Meatco also serves other markets in Africa, which include South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Ghana.
“We also have clients who place orders for various products and, dependent on product availability, are then supplied with the products they have ordered,” Meatco said.
Dire
Namibian Sun reported last month that Meatco undersold its export meat products by a massive N$4 billion between 2018 and 2023, according to the Bank of Namibia (BoN).
During this five-year period, its local competitors who sell meat to the same markets raked in billions of dollars and continued to be financially sound, while Meatco relies heavily on government bailouts because it cannot fund its own operations.
The situation is so dire that Meatco’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom (UK) is under liquidation.
The BoN analysis showed that between 2018 and 2023, Meatco could have received approximately N$6.1 billion instead of N$2.1 billion for the meat products it exported.
“This can easily absorb the losses incurred by Meatco over the last [five] years, amounting to N$636 million.”
The analysis by the central bank was conducted on request of public enterprises minister Ipumbu Shiimi to investigate the underselling of Meatco products and potential revenue opportunities for the company.
Meatco has, however, insisted that for those five years, it generated more than N$6.5 billion in revenue - excluding from hides.
The news has sent ripples of panic among local retailers who rely on Meatco to buy their meat products for for resale, fearing that this move will deprive local buyers of offal products and oxtail.
In a recently issued notice, Meatco informed its stakeholders that it would no longer be providing offal products for sale.
“The following products are unavailable until further notice: liver, kidneys, tripe, oxtail, hearts and intestines,” the notice read.
Upon enquiry, an official – who preferred to remain anonymous – said: “They just gave that notice to the local retailers who always buy those products because they have better export opportunities in Botswana.”
Meatco, however, explained that the decision to target the Botswana market will not affect its commitment to serve the domestic market.
The cooperative would continue serving the local meat market as it has been doing thus far.
Profit maximisation
Justifying the decision to sell to the Botswana market, Meatco said its goal was profit maximisation.
“We are mandated to maximise returns per cut/product to ensure the best returns for Meatco and Namibian producers. Thus, maintaining a diversified client portfolio is by no means an infringement on Meatco's mandate,” the company said.
“We serve clients in Namibia with the above products from our wholesale and MeatMa outlets on a daily basis from all our abattoirs in Windhoek, Katima Mulilo and Rundu.”
Meatco also serves other markets in Africa, which include South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Ghana.
“We also have clients who place orders for various products and, dependent on product availability, are then supplied with the products they have ordered,” Meatco said.
Dire
Namibian Sun reported last month that Meatco undersold its export meat products by a massive N$4 billion between 2018 and 2023, according to the Bank of Namibia (BoN).
During this five-year period, its local competitors who sell meat to the same markets raked in billions of dollars and continued to be financially sound, while Meatco relies heavily on government bailouts because it cannot fund its own operations.
The situation is so dire that Meatco’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom (UK) is under liquidation.
The BoN analysis showed that between 2018 and 2023, Meatco could have received approximately N$6.1 billion instead of N$2.1 billion for the meat products it exported.
“This can easily absorb the losses incurred by Meatco over the last [five] years, amounting to N$636 million.”
The analysis by the central bank was conducted on request of public enterprises minister Ipumbu Shiimi to investigate the underselling of Meatco products and potential revenue opportunities for the company.
Meatco has, however, insisted that for those five years, it generated more than N$6.5 billion in revenue - excluding from hides.
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