Meatco not in a crisis

ELLANIE SMITWINDHOEKMeatco CEO Mushokabanji Mwilima has rejected the findings of a report which says the company will face liquidation if it does not cut costs drastically.Meanwhile, new beef export markets for the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) are expected to be operational within six months.The report Mwilima was referring to was conducted by independent analyst Rainer Ritter at the end of last year as part of the public enterprise ministry's investigations into the operations of SOEs. Mwilima yesterday said Meatco was not in a crisis. He said one of their key strategies was debt reduction.According to the report the company incurred a total debt of N$822.8 million in 2017/2018.Mwilima said Meatco had reduced its long-term debt during 2019/2020 to N$382 million and also drastically reduced short-term debts.He said it was further expected that debts would be slashed by 50% this year.He also pointed out that despite Meatco last year incurring an overall loss of N$7.3 million, it still managed to pay over N$1.1 billion to producers.He said 60% of the losses Meatco had incurred was in the form of interest paid to banks, and that was why it was decided to reduce debt.Mwilima added that the company was unaware of the report and only found out about it through Whatsapp messages.“We do not know how factual it is and have a totally different perspective. Meatco will still be here in the coming 300 years. We have a strategy in place to generate profits,” he said. NCA cattleMwilima further said there are strategies in places for the marketing of cattle from north of the veterinary cordon fence.According to 2019 statistics Namibia has more than 2.5 million cattle, of which more than 1.6 million are north of the fence.With trading having started under African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement on 1 January, Mwilima says it would open up opportunities for exports of beef from the NCA.These new markets include countries such as Ghana and Gabon. The Middle East is also a possibility for beef exports from the NCA, regardless of FMD outbreaks.According to Mwilima these markets could be operational within six months.He said a directive has also been issued by the finance ministry for retailers in the North to only procure from the NCA. No shortageThe Meatco CEO further gave the assurance that Meatco will be able to fill the Norwegian beef quota and supply enough beef to the local market despite a current shortage of slaughter cattle.Meatco slaughtered 35 314 cattle from February to December 2020, compared to 115 305 the previous year.Mwilima said there is an arrangement with Botswana to procure around 20 000 cattle from there. So far this year, about 900 cattle have been imported from Botswana.

Meatco not in a crisis

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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Meatco not in a crisis

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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