STAFF WRITER
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, Inge Zaamwani says the government is committed to continue support Meatco in its push for better financial fortunes.
She was speaking after visiting the company’s premises on Wednesday where she received a detailed briefing on the Corporation’s performance, progress with its turnaround programme and key strategic priorities.
“My team and I are visiting Meatco today to fast-track any outstanding operational matters requiring the Corporation’s and Ministry’s attention. We also want to strengthen coordination and ensure that agreed actions are implemented efficiently and without further delay for the benefit of the producers and the country,” She said.
The company said the minister’s visit provided an opportunity for Meatco’s leadership to brief Zaamwani on the progress made across the business, with particular focus on year-to-date Group financial and operational performance, the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) Roadmap and the planned operationalisation of the Oshakati Abattoir.
Meatco reported group revenue increase as at 31 July Midterm, reaching N793.20 million.
This represents an increase of 56% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year and performance above budget. The Group recorded a gross profit of N$106 million, compared to a 2.27-million gross profit in the prior year.
Slaughter throughput also increased by approximately 55% year-on-year, supported by improved cattle procurement, stronger export market realisations, greater operational efficiencies and continued cost management.
As at 31 July 2026, Meatco slaughtered over 34 000 cattle both from SVCF and NCA, compared to 24 405 prior year during the same period.
Zaamwani received an update on the implementation of Meatco’s NCA subsidiary’s Roadmap, which seeks to reposition the Corporation’s activities north of the Veterinary Cordon Fence around a more focused and sustainable operating model. This includes Oshakati, Rundu, Outapi and Eenhana Abattoirs.
The Roadmap prioritises livestock procurement and aggregation, improved market access for communal producers, alignment of processing capacity with available livestock and the development of sustainable domestic and export routes to market.
Meatco says NCA remains an important part of Meatco’s national mandate, particularly in ensuring that communal livestock producers have access to reliable and competitive formal markets.
According to the 2023 livestock census, there are approximately 1-million cattle in the NCA of which 30% have slaughter-ready potential.
The working visit further considered plans for the operationalisation of the Oshakati Abattoir as an important component of the NCA Roadmap.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Ambassador Albertus Aochamub said Meatco’s focus is increasingly on translating the progress achieved through the turnaround into a sustainable business that delivers value to producers and the country.
“The progress we are seeing demonstrates that Meatco can recover and compete
when we maintain commercial discipline, secure livestock supply and maximise the value of our market access. Our task now is to consolidate these gains while
addressing the structural challenges that remain, particularly in the NCA,” Aochamub said.
He said the operationalisation of Oshakati should be viewed as part of a broader value- chain intervention rather than simply the reopening of another facility.
“Our objective is not merely to operate an abattoir. We need to build a functioning
value chain that connects communal farmers to livestock aggregation, processing and sustainable markets. Ultimately, our success must be measured by whether we create better and more reliable market opportunities for our producers.”
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