London, April 12, 2019 (AltAfrica)-Namibia has become the first African nation to export 21 tonnes of beef to China, world’s largest consumer market.

The Southern African country transported 6.5 million tonnes of beef, 250,000 tonnes of mutton, 2.3 million tonnes of pork and 1.7 million tonnes of chicken per annum to China.

The export has made Namibia the important market in the world of Africa, minister of Agriculture, water and forestry, Alpheus Gou-Ina Inaruseb, said.

He said that Namibia and China continues to enjoy cordial bilateral political and diplomatic relationship which is beneficial to both countries.

In 2016, Namibia and China signed a milestone agreement that would see A-grade beef enter the massive Asian market, making it the only country in Africa to export beef to that country.

“Relations between the two countries date back to the years of the struggle for the liberation and political independence of Namibia when the government of China took a bold decision to provide all round political and material support to Swapo the ruling party.” He said

In January 2016, the Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) from China visited Meatco to conduct an audit on the facilities.

Meatco Board chairperson Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun on her part said, the entity and the nation at large is excited about entering into an alternative market.

“Despite the challenging times producers are faced with, such as the economy and recurring drought, we would like to commend you the producers for providing us with quality produce.” She said.

The Chinese Embassy Charge d’Affaires Yang Jun confirmed Namibia as the only African country to export beef to China.
“This Namibian beef is of high quality,” he said, adding the export of beef to China is set to further open other potential avenues for business and trade.
The event was also attended by Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development Tjekero Tweya.

Based on China Customs statistics, the total bilateral trade volume in the whole year of 2018 exceeded 800 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 45 percent, which was more than double the growth rate of overall trade with Africa.

It was more than 33 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of Chinese foreign trade in the same period. Among them, China imported 500 million U.S. dollars from Namibia, up nearly 70 percent year-on-year; exported to Namibia about 300 million U.S. dollars, up 19 percent year-on-year.
Source/NAN