WINDHOEK, April 27– Namibia is looking to carve out a premium niche for its beef in the Chinese market as China’s zero-tariff policy for African imports offers fresh opportunities for high-value agricultural products, a Namibian meat industry executive has said.
Albertus Aochamub, interim chief executive of the state-owned Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco), told Xinhua in a recent interview that the policy, effective May 1, is a milestone that strengthens the trade partnership between Namibia and China.
China has announced that it will grant zero-tariff treatment for all 53 African countries with diplomatic relations next month, and will further expand access for African exports through measures including an upgraded “green channel.”
Aochamub described the initiative as an opportunity “that every sector in every country across the continent would want to take advantage of.” For Namibia, he said, the policy comes on the back of an established, though still small, beef trade with China.
In March 2019, Namibia became the first African country to export beef to China, with an initial shipment of 21 tonnes aimed at diversifying its export destinations.
Aochamub noted that Namibia has met China’s strict sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, and is already in a good trading position.
Namibia will not compete with large beef-exporting countries on volume, but will continue to position its products at the premium end of the market, where smaller consignments can attract better returns, he said.
According to Meatco’s 2024/25 data, overseas markets absorbed 47 percent of its beef sales volume but generated 84 percent of total revenue, with the European Union and Norway accounting for about 98 percent of beef revenue.
The new policy is expected to streamline existing trade flows, he said, adding that the implementation of the tariff means that Namibia will continue in a much “more relaxed and less regulated, from a tariff perspective, situation.”
Meatco will need to further assess its product mix, target regions in China and market segments for Namibian beef, Aochamub said.
“That’ll be the key driver for volumes in trade going forward.” He said that China’s vast market offers significant potential, but Namibia remains realistic about its supply capacity due to its relatively small national herd.
The country, therefore, will have to grow the China trade selectively rather than pursue mass-volume exports, Aochamub said. Namibian Minister of International Relations and Trade Selma Ashipala-Musavyi visited China from April 11 to 18.
The two sides agreed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in agriculture and other sectors, and China expressed support for Namibia’s economic and social development, including its efforts to promote industrialization and agricultural modernization. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
