Livestock body pushes back on cattle-as-crops proposal

The Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO) has rejected calls for cattle to be regulated under the same trade rules as crops in Namibia.

The organisation warned that applying vegetable import-style restrictions to cattle exports would undermine the country’s export-driven beef industry.

The debate has emerged amid calls for tighter controls on cattle exports, including proposals that mirror the Namibia Agronomic Board’s (NAB) import restriction model.

However, the LPO said the comparison is fundamentally flawed and risks distorting a sector that operates under different market realities.

NAB import restrictions on vegetables and grain are designed to protect a domestic market that is structurally dependent on imports.

Namibia is a net importer of agronomic products, meaning it consumes more than it produces. In this context, import controls help shield local producers when domestic supply is sufficient, while ensuring shortages are met through foreign markets.

Bad for business

The cattle industry, the LPO argued, functions differently.

Namibia is a net exporter of red meat, producing significantly more than the local market can absorb. As a result, the viability of the sector depends on access to international markets rather than protection from imports.

“Crops and cattle are not the same thing, and policy cannot pretend they are,” the LPO said.

It warned that applying import-style restrictions to livestock exports would not protect farmers but would instead limit their ability to access the most competitive markets.

Rather than stabilising the sector, the organisation cautioned, such measures would effectively remove farmers’ ability to sell livestock where demand and prices are most favourable. This, it said, would reduce profitability and increase market distortions.

The LPO also pointed to Namibia’s experience with a similar intervention in the small stock sector as a warning.

In 2004, the government introduced the Small Stock Marketing Scheme, aimed at restricting live exports and encouraging slaughter through domestic abattoirs. While well-intentioned, the policy led to unintended consequences.

Farmers, the organisation noted, responded to market signals rather than regulatory pressure. Many shifted away from sheep production into cattle and game farming. As a result, sheep production declined significantly, and at least one major export abattoir was forced to temporarily shut down due to insufficient supply.

The LPO said this experience demonstrates the risks of imposing artificial constraints on a fundamentally export-driven sector. It has urged policymakers not to repeat what it describes as a costly policy misstep.

System works

LPO further said that Namibia’s success in global meat markets is the result of long-term collaboration between government and industry.

It highlighted investments in the Namibia livestock identification and traceability system (NamLITS), as well as the work of the directorate of veterinary services in maintaining disease-free status south of the veterinary cordon fence.

These systems and standards, the LPO said, have been essential in securing access to high-value international markets, including the European Union, Norway, the United States and China.

Namibian beef first entered the Chinese market in 2017, marking a major milestone in trade diversification. In 2020, Namibia became the first African country to export beef to the United States.

“These are not small achievements,” the organisation said, describing them as the outcome of decades of disciplined effort, technical compliance and sustained cooperation between government and producers.