By Wezi Tjaronda
WINDHOEK
Witvlei Meat has started exporting beef to the EU market.
Last week, the abattoir, which took over the liquidated Witvlei Abattoir, exported its first 22.5-tonne container of deboned products to Norway.
This follows agreements that were finalised and signed by the local abattoir and Norway’s Fatland and Bradel Nilchensen.
Witvlei Meat chairman, Sydney Martin, told New Era yesterday that the first consignment was shipped last week with subsequent containers to be shipped depending on demand.
The abattoir received EU certification on July 24.
Martin said the bulk of the product would go to the UK and from there be distributed to the rest of Europe with Fatland distributing it to Nordic countries.
Fatland is a Norwegian meat-producing company, which formed part of a delegation that visited Namibia to look at the possibility of concluding agreements with Witvlei Meat.
The delegation includes the Nordesgruppen Supermarket Chain, the largest supermarket chain in Norway, the Norwegian Meat Trade as well as Bradel Nilchensen.
Earlier Witlvlei Meat officials said 60 percent of the company’s production would be destined for the Norwegian market, while 30 to 40 percent would be exported to neighbouring South Africa.
Norway’s beef production is failing to meet domestic market, hence the high demand .
Martin said the exports were good news to Namibia as a whole and especially to local farmers who would get good returns on their prime meat.
Martin yesterday said the South African market, to which the abattoir is already exporting, was a secondary market to which it would not export prime products because of the price differences paid by the two markets.
He said the abattoir wanted to reduce the exports to South Africa even of products that the EU market cannot take.
“We would rather add value to these products than export to South Africa’s market,” said Martin.
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