Sheep abattoirs struggle to find better prices for carcasses

Live sheep exports decreased by 21.28% from 97 433 exported in May to 76 698 heads exported in June this year, with price declines for carcasses as local abattoirs struggle to gain markets that offer better prices.

According to Market Watch, published by the Livestock and Livestock Products Board (LLPB), price comparisons show that live sheep exports increased by 7.45% on a year-to-year basis from June 2023 to June this year.

Export abattoir slaughters decreased by 31.45% on a yearly basis, but increased by 5.21% on a month-to-month basis.

Local abattoir slaughters increased by 85.90% from the 2 425 sheep slaughtered in May compared to 4 508 slaughtered in June.

“The majority of sheep live exports were destined to South African abattoirs at 99.67%, followed by Botswana (0.26%), Angola and Zimbabwe at 0.05% and 0.02%, respectively.”

The LLPB said the South African market continues to be Namibia’s biggest export destination for sheep, with the South African RSA Northern Cape A2 prices showing a relatively stable trend, increasing by 0.42% in June on a month-to-month basis.

“The Namibian A2 sheep carcass prices decreased by 20.88% on a year-on-year basis and by 4.06% on a month-to-month basis during the period under review.”

It said the decrease was driven by the challenges faced by local abattoirs in gaining markets that offer better prices for the carcasses.

Goats

A total of 15 066 goats were exported live in June this year, a 23.38% increase on a month-to-month basis.

“This shows a notable increase in live exports compared to May 2024.”

The LLPB said South Africa took up 97.84% of the total live goat exports, followed by Botswana, Zimbabwe and Angola.

The overall exports of live goats decreased by 4.98% on a year-to-year basis, while the total marketing of goats was driven by an increase in live exports.

Meanwhile, slaughter rates have recorded an increase of 1.87% from June 2023 to June 2024 on a year-to-year basis.

Pork

A total of 3 714 pigs were slaughtered in June, marking a decrease of 9.66% on a month-to-month basis from the 4 111 heads slaughtered in May.

During the period under review, the Mariental and Halooli abattoirs slaughtered 2 556 and 1 124 pigs, respectively.

The pork ceiling price in Namibia is still fixed at N$51.03/kg in an effort to lessen the negative effects of the falling Red Meat Abattoir Association (RMAA) pork price, which is currently used as the basis for calculating the Namibian ceiling price.

The calculated pork ceiling price increased by 4.14% in June.

South African pork prices have similarly increased from the N$30.73/kg recorded in May to N$31.31/kg in June. This represents an increase of 1.89% on a month-to-month basis.

The LLPB added that pork offal was the largest import product in June, with imports totalling over 500 tonnes, marking a 16.41% increase on a month-to-month basis.