12 August 2008
Windhoek — AT a recent meeting with livestock producers and agricultural unions to break the deadlock on on-the-hoof exports of small livestock, Trade and Industry Minister Hage Geingob emphasised the need for dialogue.
The meeting was called to find a solution to the ongoing dispute between Government and organised agriculture on the export restrictions on small livestock.
Government imposed a ratio of 6:1, meaning that six sheep must be slaughtered in Namibia before a farmer can export one live animal to South Africa, where prices are far better than at Namibian abattoirs.
The dispute resulted in threats by small-stock producers not to sell their animals to local abattoirs.
Sheep farmers last year proposed an export levy of N$19 per head sent to South African abattoirs, but Namibian abattoirs refused to budge.
Instead, the Abattoirs Association of Namibia is demanding N$45 per head after its original demand of N$70 per exported animal was turned down.
The dispute reached the stage where the highest delegation of Cabinet Ministers yet met with the industry recently.
At a meeting chaired by Trade Minister Geingob, the Ministers of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa, and Finance, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, as well as the Permanent Secretaries of all three Ministries represented Government.
The industry was represented by the Namibian Agricultural Union, (NAU), Namibia National Farmers' Union, Meat Board and Abattoirs Association.
At the meeting Geingob made it clear that he believed in dialogue and that this was an attempt by Government to reach consensus on small-stock marketing in Namibia.
He emphasised that he would like to see a decision that firstly would be to the advantage of the country but also satisfied all parties, the NAU said in its weekly newsletter.
The NAU pointed out that the Small Stock Marketing Scheme was discriminating in its current form and that it was to the disadvantage of small-stock producers while giving an unfair advantage to the abattoirs without any mechanism forcing them to pay a competing price.
The Abattoirs Association, on the other hand, argued that abattoirs depended on a constant throughput to remain profitable.
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