USA Trade Hub presents Meatco with trophy
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
Meatco was officially awarded with the Exporter of the Year to USA Trophy during a ceremony held last week.
The Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Namibian Manufacturers Association (NMA), held the ceremony to award the winners of the first Namibia Annual Exporter Awards for 2021.
In his acceptance speech as Exporter of the Year to the USA, the CEO of Meatco, Mwilima Mushokabanji, said he was humbled to accept the trophy on behalf of the Meatco workforce.
“Meatco is an institution that is tasked with a very huge responsibility because we strive to become this big institution that competes globally and, as we do that, our objective is clear in creating sustainable wealth for all Namibians.
“We do this by maximising producer returns and paying competitive prices at all costs. Meatco also creates wealth by contributing to employment creation; currently, we are employing 700 staff members. This needs to be sustained as agriculture is the backbone of the Namibian economy,” he said.
Opportunity
According to Mushokabanji, Meatco saw an opportunity to utilise the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) legislation when in 2002 the Namibian Government sought approval to export beef products into the US.
Meatco used AGOA as a strategic gateway to make the best use of the export market.
At the time, there was no other African country exporting beef to the US market and Meatco became the first African beef exporter to the US market.
To date, it has exported 720 tonnes of beef to that market.
Mushokabanji said their target is the high-end user market, a health-conscious market that appreciates quality organic products.
“We are excited and look forward to a long-lasting relationship. We also look forward to producing and beefing up exports into the US market.”
The acting USA country representative for Namibia, Mark Anthony, said Meatco had proven to be the pioneer in creating market entry channels in the USA for Namibian beef products.
WINDHOEK
Meatco was officially awarded with the Exporter of the Year to USA Trophy during a ceremony held last week.
The Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Namibian Manufacturers Association (NMA), held the ceremony to award the winners of the first Namibia Annual Exporter Awards for 2021.
In his acceptance speech as Exporter of the Year to the USA, the CEO of Meatco, Mwilima Mushokabanji, said he was humbled to accept the trophy on behalf of the Meatco workforce.
“Meatco is an institution that is tasked with a very huge responsibility because we strive to become this big institution that competes globally and, as we do that, our objective is clear in creating sustainable wealth for all Namibians.
“We do this by maximising producer returns and paying competitive prices at all costs. Meatco also creates wealth by contributing to employment creation; currently, we are employing 700 staff members. This needs to be sustained as agriculture is the backbone of the Namibian economy,” he said.
Opportunity
According to Mushokabanji, Meatco saw an opportunity to utilise the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) legislation when in 2002 the Namibian Government sought approval to export beef products into the US.
Meatco used AGOA as a strategic gateway to make the best use of the export market.
At the time, there was no other African country exporting beef to the US market and Meatco became the first African beef exporter to the US market.
To date, it has exported 720 tonnes of beef to that market.
Mushokabanji said their target is the high-end user market, a health-conscious market that appreciates quality organic products.
“We are excited and look forward to a long-lasting relationship. We also look forward to producing and beefing up exports into the US market.”
The acting USA country representative for Namibia, Mark Anthony, said Meatco had proven to be the pioneer in creating market entry channels in the USA for Namibian beef products.
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