NTF consults on broiler protection
The chicken industry in Namibia has major room for growth when one considers that Namibians consume 13 kg of chicken per year while in South Africans eat 38 kg per person per year.
Currently, the monthly requirement for chicken is roughly 2 500 tonnes and of this, 1 900 tonnes are locally produced, the bulk of which is from Namib Poultry Industries which was established in 2012. Last year, South Africa produced 1.726 billion tonnes of chicken which implies that the Namibian market represents a meagre 2% of that of South Africa.
These figures were announced by Robert McGregor, an economist of Cirrus Capital, at a workshop held last week by the Namibia Trade Forum (NTF) and other relevant stakeholders.
The workshop was held with the view of preparing a white paper for the sustainable protection of the local broiler industry.
“Namibia's consumption of chicken is far lower than that of South Africa which means there is a lot of room for the market to grow,” McGregor said.
In 2017, the poultry industry contributed roughly N$201 million to the economy, 0.12% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
If the multiplier effect is taken into account, which includes labour, packaging, transport, utilities and other costs, the total stands at 4.42 which means for each dollar spent on raising the chickens, N$4.42 is pushed into the economy. This increases the industry's contribution to the GDP to 0.7%.
NPI currently employs 660 of which the majority is blue-collar labour. Moreover, according to McGregor, the costs of production in Namibia are far higher than that of South Africa.
However, uncertainty over policy is preventing further growth in the industry.
“Nobody wants to create a monopoly but, measures are required to protect the local industry against dumping,” he said.
In 2013, import quotas were imposed limiting imports of chicken to 900 tonnes in a bid to protect the local industry. Following this, the South African Poultry Association launched a bid in the High Court to have the import limitations set aside. The application failed but, the South Africans were given permission to appeal and the matter is currently bogged down.
The uncertainty of this outcome is currently the greatest limiting factor to the development of the local industry.
Ronelle Rademeyer
Currently, the monthly requirement for chicken is roughly 2 500 tonnes and of this, 1 900 tonnes are locally produced, the bulk of which is from Namib Poultry Industries which was established in 2012. Last year, South Africa produced 1.726 billion tonnes of chicken which implies that the Namibian market represents a meagre 2% of that of South Africa.
These figures were announced by Robert McGregor, an economist of Cirrus Capital, at a workshop held last week by the Namibia Trade Forum (NTF) and other relevant stakeholders.
The workshop was held with the view of preparing a white paper for the sustainable protection of the local broiler industry.
“Namibia's consumption of chicken is far lower than that of South Africa which means there is a lot of room for the market to grow,” McGregor said.
In 2017, the poultry industry contributed roughly N$201 million to the economy, 0.12% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
If the multiplier effect is taken into account, which includes labour, packaging, transport, utilities and other costs, the total stands at 4.42 which means for each dollar spent on raising the chickens, N$4.42 is pushed into the economy. This increases the industry's contribution to the GDP to 0.7%.
NPI currently employs 660 of which the majority is blue-collar labour. Moreover, according to McGregor, the costs of production in Namibia are far higher than that of South Africa.
However, uncertainty over policy is preventing further growth in the industry.
“Nobody wants to create a monopoly but, measures are required to protect the local industry against dumping,” he said.
In 2013, import quotas were imposed limiting imports of chicken to 900 tonnes in a bid to protect the local industry. Following this, the South African Poultry Association launched a bid in the High Court to have the import limitations set aside. The application failed but, the South Africans were given permission to appeal and the matter is currently bogged down.
The uncertainty of this outcome is currently the greatest limiting factor to the development of the local industry.
Ronelle Rademeyer
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article