Food and mouth disease to weigh on agriculture

The recent outbreak of the food and mouth disease in neighbouring South Africa, which is among the world’s most infectious animal illnesses, is expected to weight of the performance of the agriculture sector in Namibia.The South African government announced a national ban on moving cattle for a period of 21 days to curb the spread of the disease.According to Simonis Storm, the Meat Board of Namibia expects the 21-day movement ban to result in lower marketing activity during August 2022 and highly likely to impact on September 2022 as well, leading to weaker performance in the third quarter of 2022.Fin24 recently reported that the suspension will be reviewed weekly. There will be exceptions, including if there is a veterinary permit for direct slaughter at registered abattoirs and for slaughter for ritual purposes."Cattle that are already at shows, auctions and en route into the republic will be given 48 hours to be permitted to move to final destination after being sold. The local state veterinary office should be contacted for these permits," Fin24 cited the Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza.Simonis noted that total livestock marketing activity for cattle, sheep and goats increased by 39.9% year-on-year in second quarter of 2022 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2021.“Given that livestock farming accounts for 35.1% of the agriculture industry in Namibia, we believe these improved marketing growth figures should bode well for the industry’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2Q2022,” Simonis said.SlaughteringLocal livestock slaughtering continues on a downward trend, decreasing by 17.3% on average in July 2022, with cattle slaughtering down by 29.6%, sheep 7.9%, goats (17.4%) and pigs (14.4%) year-on-year.On the other hand, live exports grew by high double digits during July 2022. Cattle exports increased by 16.1% in July 2022, sheep exports (11.1%) and goat exports (117.8%) year-on-year, Simonis Storm added.The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) restricted the importation of 13 horticulture products in July 2022 and reduced this list to 10 products for August 2022. This is indicative of local supply having improved, specifically for beetroots, cucumbers and potatoes.Shortages in various horticulture products are forecasted for the remainder of 2022, according to the NAB. Based on the projections, local supply will be largely insufficient, increasing the import requirement for basic food stuffs. While global food prices are showing signs of moderation, local shortages are likely to keep local food prices elevated as it takes time for lower global prices to filter through, Simonis Storm said. -phillep@nmh.com.na

Food and mouth disease to weigh on agriculture

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-20

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Food and mouth disease to weigh on agriculture

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-20

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