New laws to tackle high meat imports

Government is developing new legislation to tackle the high import volumes of dairy, poultry and pork into the country, as well as to avail breathing space and protection to enable those industries to grow.Agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein announced the mooted legislative changes when he introduced the Livestock and Livestock Product Amendment Bill in parliament this week, adding that the inclusion of dairy-related products and poultry-related products will greatly assist local producers. An overreliance on imports, underinvestment in the agriculture sector and foot-dragging on policies to protect and ensure the growth of local industries have left Namibia at the mercy of South Africa over the years, a situation which has seen Namibia being a net importer of food.However, if Schlettwein’s proposed legislative changes go beyond political rhetoric, Namibia’s dependence on food imports will reduce drastically in the coming years, especially on poultry and dairy products.“The two sub-sectors [poultry and dairy] are at the brink of collapse as many producers are going out of production due to imports into Namibia,” a worried Schlettwein said.The proposed changes, according to him, will enable Namibia to develop its dairy and poultry industries through a pro-growth regulatory framework in line with the Namibia agriculture policy and the growth-at-home strategy. Official data indicates that Namibian consumption is able to support the poultry, diary and pork industries - if these industries are assisted to grow on the premise that consumer prices are equal to those in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) region and not to the detriment of consumers, the minister noted.New name, amendmentsThe main amendments to the Meat Industry Act in the Livestock and Livestock Products Amendment Bill will provide for the definition of dairy products and dairy-product substitutes. “The expertise gained by the Meat Board of Namibia to manage these industries led to a review of this particular Act to include other commodities such as dairy and poultry.”Meanwhile, it is proposed that the name of the Meat Board - which is the statuary institution established and empowered to regulate the affairs of the meat industry - will change to the Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia.Schlettwein said the growth of local industry competitiveness is a pre-requisite for long-term sustainability and to ensure the maximisation of consumer-demand needs without obtaining cheaper products elsewhere.The growth of these agricultural industries - all intensive with high employment creation potential - is crucial for import substitution, food self-sufficiency and food security as well as adding value to locally produced raw material, he said. “Reliance on imports not only presents a food security risk, but also has associated economic and financial risks like imported inflation, exchange control and balance of payment risks, to mention a few,” the minister said.

New laws to tackle high meat imports

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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New laws to tackle high meat imports

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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