farmer |
The country's meat
processing and export company, Meatco, awaits to see how year 2018
would pan out, as the company's board this week start sifting through
applications for the position of the chief executive officer, to replace
Advocate Vekuii Rukoro who left last year amid controversies.
The new chief
executive officer would be expected to turn around the corporation, in
line with a re-alignment exercise already approved by the board for
implementation in 2018.
The aim will be to
transform the corporation into an efficient business unit, providing
clients and customers with the best possible service in the market,
managing its costing structures, building and fostering its marketing
brand and to contribute in safeguarding the Namibian economy moving
forward.
Despite its most disturbing and controversial AGM ever last year, Meatco has succeeded in
implementing the fixed forward pricing contract which was introduced to
offer a secure price to the producer, says Jethro Kwenani, communication
officer at Meatco.
Kwenani further
said that additional feedlot facilities to assist with consistent
throughput at its export abattoir and a new producer portal created on
the Meatco website to ease access to prices and marking trends.
"Noteworthy is the
progress made with the United States, Japan and Russia as potential new
meat export markets. The first containers of meat were processed and
exported to Hong Kong, one of the most lucrative export markets. One of
the targets of last year was to optimise the returns realised from meat
sales, which have been successful according to sales revenue increases,"
Kwenani said.
Meatco operates in a
unique business environment with almost unlimited access to
sophisticated international markets however supply side constraints for
raw materials on a consistent basis are the biggest challenge.
With the slaughter
industry having had a difficult 2017, due to abattoirs in Namibia
battling to compete with South African parity prices, supply of raw
material to the abattoir decreased. Several plans are, however, underway
to counteract this. Existing backward integration initiatives were
investigated and receive attention and additional funding is sourced to
expand these capabilities. The Board also revisited the current producer
bonus strategy and will soon introduce and offer a longer-term
incentive bonus to loyal producers. This strategy included bonus
provisions as from 1 February 2016 onwards and will be broadly based on a
combination of cattle numbers, quality and merit points.
The Fixed Price
Contract will be available until the end of March 2018, and soon a
decision will be made by Meatco's management whether to continue with
the Fixed Contracts throughout the "peak season".
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