WINDHOEK – The Chinese authorities have accepted the first ever consignment of Namibian brewed beer, a significant feat in the trade relationship between Namibia and China, second only to the first ever conclusive agreement on Animal Health and Quarantine the two countries signed in 2011.
Namibia Breweries Limited exported the Windhoek Lager beer brand in early December last year from the port of Walvis Bay and the consignment arrived in China on January 7. “Windhoek Lager was exported and received with open arms as the demand for Windhoek Lager increases with [Chinese] locals travelling to Namibia and South Africa,” the manager for Global Sales at Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) Goose Goosen said this week.
The consignment was shipped to test and gauge market response, but Goosen says there is “a preference for Windhoek Lager and Windhoek Draught.” Namibia has been working to diversify its exports to China, and to move away from the export of raw minerals and to promote greater value addition in Namibia. The breakthrough finally came in 2011 with a formalised agreement and subsequent visits by Chinese authorities to validate various export facilities in 2012. This was after years of negotiations, and intense diplomatic discussions, especially on the export of beer, beef and fish. The negotiations stretch years back, nearly a decade, with notable major hiccups for beer and meat exports during the 2010 Shanghai Expo, when China rejected Namibian exports due to an absence of a formal agreement. It was during this time that Chinese authorities pointed at the English labelling on the beer as one of the reasons the beer could not enter the market, a specification, which at that time the Namibian business sector labelled as too stringent. NBL would not comment on the specifics, such as the precise volumes exported, with the company saying it is “positive that the response will exceed our expectations. We will gauge response going forward and supply accordingly.”
The brewery also declined to comment on the labelling requirements that were a problem before, opting only to say: “As with many of our other export markets, there are label specific requirements which we will adhere to. This is an on-going process.” The brewery nevertheless says it is confident that its beer would “once again deliver against high expectations in the premium market in China.”
By Desie Heita