By Wezi Tjaronda
WINDHOEK
Namibia should become more aggressive to be able to export bone in meat to the European Union market, a senior government official has said.
At the moment, Namibia is not only prohibited from exporting bone in meat, but is also subjected to meat maturation.
Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Otto Hubschle, said yesterday the EU was contravening its own regulation by subjecting Namibia to such measures.
“The EU contravened all international agreements for the last 10 years when it denied Namibia to export bone in meat.
“The EU applies measures of control which are contrary to their own regulations,” he said.
Hubschle was speaking at the Meat Industry Forum yesterday on the European Commission Food ad Veterinary Office’s report on Namibia.
He said Namibia’s subservient attitude to the EU should change by challenging certain notions and that there is no scientific basis for such measures.
“There is no scientific basis yet we take it. And that’s the problem that we have. We must change,” he said. While this is the case, Hubschle informed the meeting that the EU would also require all animals to be tagged on both ears at the age of 20 days.
For Namibia, the director said the most important thing was to brand the animals.
Hubschle said he took up the negotiation of bone in meat with the EU two months ago and was waiting for an answer. He said by demanding that Namibia comply with such measures, it was taking a precautionary step towards Africa because “they can’t trust us”.
He said Namibia was doing its tests systematically and to the point but “the EU inspections came with the intention to find fault”.
Namibia has maintained three different zones for foot-and-mouth disease control, namely infected, buffer and surveillance zones, a situation that has remained so for the past 40 years even though Namibia has not had any foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
The EU is supposed to subject imports to special maturation and deboned meat measures to countries that have foot-and-mouth disease.
EU inspections focus on production that is free of health-compromising substances and to ensure the absence of infectious diseases.
Namibia obtained market access for its beef to the EU on preferential and competitive conditions in 1992. But with the coming of the Cotonou Agreement, which succeeded the Lome Convention, the trade preferences have been challenged, hence the need for trade agreements.
Namibia forms part of the SADC EPA EU trade agreement, which is supposed to be concluded by the end of the year.
Meat Board chairman, Job Hengari, told the meeting that conclusion of the negotiations is still possible by end of the year although the different SADC countries negotiating positions posed a challenge.
He said an alternative negotiating position has been proposed and may be pursued to assist in a smooth transition on January 1, next year.
A study carried out this year to count the costs of the lapse of Namibia’s exports under preferential access would mean a loss of N$292 million, which is the country’s current market benefit to the export industry.
Hengari said the impact of the loss of the preferential access would also mean lower prices for producers, closure of abattoirs in the northern communal areas and loss of 190 jobs.
Meatco would also have to rationalise its operations, which may lead to loss of 600 jobs in south of the veterinary cordon fence and closure of one feedlot and an abattoir.
He added that the N$240 million that the ministry, producers and abattoirs have invested to comply with stringent Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary measures would be wasted.