By Matheus Hamutenya
KEETMANSHOOP – Brukkaros Meat Processors (BMP) could not wait for 2014 to end, because business was not good. The hope is that 2015 would be a better year, with no drought. The previous years had severe droughts that affected the supply of livestock to the meat processing plant. Local farmers, on whom BMP abattoir heavily relies, were unable to supply livestock.
“Because of sheep shortage and abattoirs are many it means we pay higher prices for sheep than what you would ordinarily pay if there were enough sheep,” said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Solomon Nemaire, in an interview with New Era.
He said although demand in the South African market is not high, competition for the available livestock in Namibia is high with many abattoirs searching for livestock supply.
Giving reference from national statistics, he explained that in 2014 countrywide the total marketed cattle by the end of the third quarter was 163 753 livestock units compared to 348 621 livestock units in 2013, which represents a 53 percent decrease in cattle marketing.
A significant drop in the sales of small stock sector could also be seen as the overall marketing of small stock in 2014 stood at 802 518 livestock units compared to nearly 1.1 million livestock units in 2013, which is a 26 percent drop in sales.
Sheep export to the European Union and South Africa also recorded a significant fall as only 480 620 sheep were slaughtered in 2014 compared to 656 063 livestock units slaughtered during 2013, which is a 27 percent decrease.
Nemaire attributed this mainly to the drought and added that the supply of livestock is now low and it is hard to get sheep and cattle for slaughter and the prices paid for sheep and cattle has gone up making it expensive to buy from the farmers compared to other years.
He also pointed out the high cost of water and electricity and labour as some of the challenges the abattoir faces.
Commenting on the overall performance in terms of profit, he said not much profit is expected from 2014 but rather a loss or just the break-even point.
BMP is a multi-species slaughtering and meat-processing facility that deals with game, sheep and beef and its produce is mainly exported to South Africa.
The company is the biggest single employer in the region outside the mining and fishing industries, with about 200 employees.