…highest recorded total since August 2023
Atleast 34,196 cattle were marketed in March 2024—the highest monthly figure recorded since August 2023; a quarterly livestock report released by Simonis Storm has revealed.
This total included 12,709 cattle slaughtered within domestic facilities and 21,487 exported live, predominantly to South Africa.
Notably, in March 2024, all livestock sectors experienced an increase in marketing activities compared to both the previous month and March of the previous year. A total of 141,492 cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs were marketed, representing 8.4% y/y increase from March 2023.
The report also notes that there has been an increase in livestock marketing activities to 318,017 in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 259,743 activities in the same period of 2023.
“This marks the highest level of marketing activity recorded during the first quarter of any year we have on record. The prolonged absence of adequate rainfall in specific regions has led farmers to prepare for a potential drought in 2024, driving the increase in livestock marketing during this period,” the research firm say in a livestock sector report.
The Livestock and Livestock Products Board also affirms that the shift in dynamics is attributed to drought conditions and, in part, to lower producer prices offered by local abattoirs. In the goats’ sector, marketing activities increased by 7.7% y/y, primarily driven by growth in live exports. However, pigs only saw marketing activity in the slaughtering segment, with no live exports recorded. The pork ceiling price remained unchanged at N$51.03/kg in March 2024.
“South Africa remains the primary destination for the majority of Namibia’s livestock exports. In March 2024, Namibia exported 108,996 livestock to South Africa, predominantly sheep. Botswana followed as the second-largest destination with 269 heads of livestock, while Angola ranked third with 244 heads. Zambia accounted for 175 heads, and Zimbabwe received only fifty heads of goats,” says Simonis Storm.
During the first quarter of 2024, Namibia exported 2,936,183 kilograms of beef, a significant 106% y/y increase from the prior year. Of this, 1,277,900 kilograms were exported to the EU, accounting for 43.5% of the total beef exports, highlighting the EU as a key market. The United Kingdom and Norway followed as the second and third largest destinations, accounting for 27.2% and 13.7% of the exported beef, respectively.
South Africa remains Namibia’s primary beef export destination among African countries. Notably, during the first quarter of 2024, no beef was exported to Botswana, whereas 1,527 kilograms were exported during the same period last year. Conversely, 976 kilograms of beef were exported to the USA in the first quarter of 2024, compared to no recorded beef exports to the USA during the same period last year.