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LIVESTOCK producers want market-related prices for their small livestock, with no restrictions put on exports.
Speaking to The
Namibian in the wake of an announcement that one of the small stock
abattoirs is closing down, Livestock Producers Organisation leader
Hannes Visagie said they have no problem with abattoirs, but only want
mechanisms put in place which will ensure fair prices for their
livestock.
In addition, they do not want restrictions which would stop them from exporting their animals.
Visagie said while
they have a good relationship with local abattoirs, it is the export
abattoirs that do not want to pay fair market prices.
As it stands,
livestock producers are expected to operate on a one-to-one ratio, where
for every small livestock they export on the hoof to South Africa, they
have to sell one to a Namibian abattoir.
"The reason why
producers export the livestock to markets like South Africa is because
we get better prices there. That is the short and long of the story,"
Visagie said.
The comments come
after Farmers Meat Market's Mariental abattoir gave notice to
agriculture minister John Mutorwa and consumers that they will be
closing due to financial difficulties caused by big losses the company
incurred.
The abattoir's
leaders told the minister in a letter that because more than half of the
country's animals which can be slaughtered are being exported on the
hoof to South Africa, and because of the recent drought, the abattoir
experienced a severe reduction in the number of animals available for
slaughter.
"It is unfortunate
that there has been no support for local export-approved abattoirs,
which would have been in line with the government's Growth At Home
strategy," Farmers Meat Market executive chairman Christo van Niekerk
said in the letter.
According to Van
Niekerk, the abattoir used to slaughter between 21 000 and 30 000
animals a month. But lately, they cannot even get 5 000.
Visagie, however,
said he does not understand why producers must be responsible for the
wallets of abattoirs as they are also running businesses as producers.
He added that
although the recent drought in the country affected farmers, it cannot
be blamed in isolation for the position the abattoirs find themselves
in.
He said the abattoirs were warned in 2002 already that it was not feasible to only depend on exporting small livestock meat.
Visagie said export
abattoirs have an option of buying small livestock on the hoof at
auctions if they are not getting enough animals for slaughter from
regular suppliers.
Mutorwa said on
Tuesday that there is an urgent need for small livestock producers and
abattoirs in the south to reach consensus as the issues between the two
parties have taken too long to solve.
He said he thought there was a breakthrough in the issue, and that a submission was made to a Cabinet committee.
According to the
minister, the Cabinet committee was supposed to meet yesterday to
deliberate on the outstanding issues. He also met livestock producers in
early August after they reminded him of a need for such a meeting.
Mutorwa said all the producer representatives who were at the meeting agreed to the submission.
Farmers Meat Market Mariental refused to comment on the situation for now.
While the producers
emphasised that they get better prices in South Africa for their
animals, the abattoir maintained that they have always tried hard to pay
their producers market-related prices.
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