November 4, 2010

 

Tanzania's local red meat sector struggles for survival

Large-scale processors of red meat in Tanzania are struggling to run and maintain their businesses with others closing shops and some operating below 50% of the installed capacity.

 

Despite the fact that local processors are not doing well in business, Tanzania brought in 254 tonnes of red meat in 2006/07 with the mining and hospitality industries highlighted as the main importers.

 

Speaking during the Second National Market Development Forum in Morogoro last week, Netherlands Development Organization Economic Development Adviser Mr Silvanus Mruma said that Tanzania has huge potentials for red meat in the local market.

 

He said that people are willing to buy meat at cheap local butcheries where safety is not guaranteed and even the weighing machines have been tampered with. He said that the red meat market in the country is highly fragmented, disorganised and dominated by small-scale businessmen who do not consider the required health standards.

 

He said that retail butchers usually sell their products cheap because there are a lot more processes that are not followed like checking the animal's health before it is slaughtered, poor storage facilities and quality of the products being sold.

 

Mr Mruma said that the country which has good number of cattle, the potential of read meat can not be over-emphasised. The main challenges that face the meat industry are the low genetic potential of the animals for meat production, low productivity of the traditional production system and underdeveloped processing and marketing channels.

 

It is estimated that about 1.5 million cattle is slaughtered annually countrywide, producing about 335,000 tonnes of meat. However, this production only meets the local market demand with almost nothing for export.

 

He said that there is a vast potential for improvement of the traditional livestock sub sector through the adoption of advanced production, processing and marketing technology. He said that the government should regulate retail meat shops especially in the areas of standards, health and slaughtering.

 

He was presenting a paper on 'Market Development: The Case of Red Meat Retail Outlets in Morogoro Municipality. He further said that officials in Morogoro Municipal Council fail to close butcheries, which do not comply with the safety standards because councillors and other municipal officials own most of them.

 

The Director of External Trade and Marketing in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing, Ms Jacqueline Maleko, said that the government was committed to collaborate with the private sector to remove all the constraints.

 

She said processing, marketing and consumption of quality meat is limited by inconsistent supply of quality animals, inadequate market information, inadequate research and training. Other hurdles failing the meat industry, according to her, are poor technology and little awareness of consumers on meat quality.

 

She said that some companies have been forced to import meat and meat products into the country to supply to markets in the hospitality industry, supermarkets and mining firms.