According to figures released recently by the Bank of Botswana, meat exports which primarily comprise beef, soared to P173.6 million in the first quarter of 2024, the highest quarterly outcome since 2019.
Beef sector insiders told BusinessWeek that the drought had left farmers with no option but to panic sell their livestock to the BMC in an attempt to get the most out of their rapidly slimming herd. With little pasture nationwide after the long dry spell, farmers have been forced to dispose of their livestock to minimise their losses. The BMC is seen as offering the best prices in the market.
A highly placed official within the Botswana National Beef Producers Union (BNBPU) told BusinessWeek that the rise in sales does not reflect positive market sentiments but rather the desperation of farmers to quickly get rid of their stock as the drought worsens.
“It’s really a reflection of drought fears,” he said. “A lot of cattle have been sold to BMC because of the drought. “Farmers are trying to make the most of the little they have before the drought takes it away.”
In addition to drought pressures, the official further revealed that BMC has been offering better prices than the South African market which offtakes live cattle exports. He said this has further added to the uptick in meat exports in the first quarter of the year.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi last month declared an “extreme agricultural drought” noting that the recent El Niño-hit cropping season saw 16,000 livestock deaths countrywide, while cereal production dropped to just six percent of national demand.
The dry conditions associated with El Niño also caused 1,170 outbreaks of wildfires during the recently ended summer, affecting 855,861 hectares of land, an area nearly seven times larger than New York City.
“Delayed rains and the extended dry spells severely impacted crops with most wilting and failing early in the season. “The livestock sector is experiencing the effects of an extreme drought,” read the drought declaration statement.
Relief remedies offered to the struggling sector include government’s offer to pay 85% of seasonal loans farmers received from state financiers, provide a 30% livestock feed subsidy, and increase the national labour-based social support programme by 30,000 new positions.
In 2020, the BMC was accredited to export beef to the United Arab Emirates following negotiations that were conducted at the Dubai Expo.
