Namibia: New abattoir to give beef farmers control

Construction of a new state-of-the-art export abattoir and processing plant is taking shape on the outskirts of Windhoek. This new facility will provide Namibian cattle farmers access to and control over the whole red meat value chain.

The development follows a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Beef Value Chain Forum (BVCF) and Savanna Beef and is facilitated by Cirrus Capital.

The facility will bring Namibian beef farmers closer to their vision to export beef without making use of government-controlled abattoirs, thus putting them in control of the red meat value chain.

The aim is to obtain better prices for beef farmers without interference of government or other privately owned slaughterhouses. The farmers are dissatisfied with the inefficiency of abattoirs that influence the prices they obtain.

Financing

Savanna Beef secured a N$150 million loan this month to finance the construction of a state-of-the-art export abattoir. (N$1 = 1.028966 ZAR Nov 12, 2024)

According to Cirrus, technical and engineering teams have been planning the abattoir’s infrastructure, including securing a construction contractor, addressing specific construction needs such as water treatment and refrigeration, and ensuring a reliable electricity supply.

Savanna Beef secured a N$150 million loan this month to finance the construction of a state-of-the-art export abattoir.

The development comes after a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Beef Value Chain Forum (BVCF) and facilitated by Cirrus Capital.

According to Cirrus, during this period, technical and engineering teams had been planning the abattoir’s infrastructure, including securing a construction contractor, addressing specific construction needs such as water treatment and refrigeration, and ensuring a reliable electricity supply.

In addition, Savanna Beef also secured an additional N$80 million in equity capital from two private investor groups.

At initiation, Savanna Beef raised N$193 million in equity capital through three private placements which came from Namibian cattle producers. Cirrus, along with BVCF, engaged farmers and secured their participation through investment opportunities that offered both shares and slaughtering rights. Farmers were invited to participate in providing funding in exchange for shares and slaughtering rights attached to the shares.

Facility

The facility will include the whole process from offloading of cattle to slaughter, processing and packaging ready for export.

With the loan agreement in place, construction of the abattoir is under way on the farm Teuffelschlust along the highway between Windhoek and Okahandja. So far, the foundations for the abattoir, processing plant and head office have been laid and the roof has been constructed.

The facility will include an abattoir that observes international export regulations, a processing plant for deboning, and a rendering plant for skins, fat, sinews, bones and hooves.

Refrigeration and a packaging plant will be provided, as well as a wastewater recycling and water purification plant. Water will be provided by own boreholes and water from the national provider Namwater.

Provision will also be made for high-voltage equipment to provide a stable electricity supply.

Markets

The facility is expected to start test slaughtering of 250 cattle per day by the middle of next year to evaluate the new infrastructure. Eventually, the facility will have the capacity to slaughter 50 000 cattle per annum when in full operation.

Namibia at present has eight well-regulated and competent export abattoirs that process a variety of livestock, including cattle, sheep, pigs, ostriches and chickens.

Besides the traditional market of the European Union, Sweden and Norway, Namibia at present also exports beef to the United States and China.

The facility will work in close cooperation with the Namibian Veterinary Directorate to obtain an export license.