Meatco has introduced strategies to improve its performance and income by exploring new export markets for the country's meat and meat products.
The state-owned company has been swimming in debt over the last few years and has been operating mainly on bank overdrafts.
Meatco CEO, Mwilima Mushokobanji, briefed the media on the state of the corporation.
Meatco has become limping financially and has neglected the main source of its existence, i.e. the producers, to the extent that some farmers are deserting it and are setting up a new outfit that would rival Meatco.
The financial situation of the abattoir operator and the country's flagship meat exporter had been such that its assets were attached by its creditor banks. In the fiscal year 2020/21, it lost more than N$200 million.
Recently, the company secured a government financial injection of over N$200 million from the Development Bank of Namibia that will be paid back by the government.
As a result, the company was able to free all of its assets from the banks and reclaim ownership of them, and it is now focused on profitability.
Among its other strategies are market diversification, through which the company focuses on maximising its returns and improving revenue by concentrating on the key premium markets, namely Norway, China, and the USA.
Meatco has also improved its relationship with local farmers by paying them competitive prices.
Another positive development is that meat from the Northern Communal Area can now be exported as new markets have been discovered, such as Ghana, Tanzania, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This means farmers in the Northern Communal Area can now earn an income from these markets.
The main challenge facing Meatco is the price disparity between farmers in the south and those in the northern parts of the country. At the moment, farmers from the southern parts are paid N$62.00 per kg, while farmers in the north receive only N$36.00 per kg.
Discussions are at an advanced stage to penetrate the markets in the Middle East, which are among the most lucrative and highly competitive markets in the world.
Meatco is also working on the mainstreaming of the northern communal area into the economy, where the Ministry of Agriculture has directed the company to operate abattoirs in Katima Mulilo, Rundu, and Eloolo and provide technical support to the Oshakati abattoir.
The Rundu abattoir is nearing completion and is expected to be finalised during the first quarter of next year.
Other countries in the developing world, including some of its neighbouring countries, are finding it difficult to export to luxury and sought-after markets due to a lack of capacity and the presence of tropical animal diseases.