Weaner exports to resume

Exports of weaner calves to South Africa can finally resume after the registration of certain feedlots with that country’s Directorate of Animal Health.
These feedlots, and others which are yet to be approved, have applied under the alternative permit system and, importantly, will carry the costs of the required veterinary tests.
This is a great relief to Namibian cattle farmers who have been hit by drought, stringent new animal health regulations in South Africa and the closure of Meatco’s Okapuka feedlot outside Windhoek.
According to the Meat Board of Namibia, the South African feedlots that will be able to bypass the strict health regulations are Morgan Beef, Maye West, Mushlendow and Braams.
However, they have not been issued import permits by South Africa’s Directorate of Animal Health as yet.
Namibia’s agriculture ministry announced earlier this month that Namibian farmers could finally expect some relief after South Africa had relaxed its import conditions for livestock intended for slaughter in that country. Known as the alternative permit system, only facilities for sheep were registered at that time.
Strict import conditions introduced by South Africa on 1 July this year resulted in no cattle being exported from Namibia since then because the required screening tests are prohibitively expensive.
This caused an outcry from the farming community, who urged the government to intervene.
The new, more lenient permits for exports to feedlots reduce the need for compulsory pre-export brucellosis testing and double TB resting.
This means that sheep and goats do not have to be tested anymore and that cattle only have to be tested for TB once within 30 days before export.
Under the latest system exporters must apply to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in South Africa for the new veterinary import permit and all animals must be properly identified using the official NAMLITs ear tags for cattle, sheep and goats.
The veterinary import permit must be certified by a state veterinarian in Namibia and at the border the exporter must declare the consignment to veterinary officials of both countries.
The ministry further says that the veterinary officials in South Africa will issue a ‘red cross’ permit for the consignment from the border to the final destination, where arrangements have to be made for the owner of the facility (feedlot or abattoir) to receive the consignment and break the seals.
The Namibian Agricultural Union described South Africa’s revised import regulations on all livestock from Namibia as the biggest challenge for the livestock industry this year.
According to the NAU annual report, even efforts to liaise with the South African authorities on the highest level could not move them to abandon the implementation of these regulations.
The matter was also placed on the agenda of the Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Committee (SPS) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“The South African authorities did not show any urgency to find a solution, not even to make a distinction between animals destined to SA for breeding purposes (which have to comply with strict regulations) and animals destined for abattoirs and feedlots.”
It said the implementation of these strict measures in fact had little to do with Namibia’s animal health status, but was rather a trade restriction with the purpose to stimulate better producer prices for South African farmers through an increase in demand.

ELLANIE SMIT