Meat Corporation of Namibia facts for kids

MeatCo, also known as the Meat Corporation of Namibia, is a big company in Namibia that processes meat. Its main office is in Windhoek, the capital city. MeatCo is the biggest company that sends high-quality beef from Namibia to other countries.

MeatCo's Story

MeatCo started in 1986. Back then, it was called Swameat Corporation and was run by the government. Its job was to handle meat production and send Namibian meat to other countries. In 2001, its name changed to Meat Corporation of Namibia, or MeatCo for short.

In 2003, countries in Europe stopped buying meat from Namibia for a while. This meant MeatCo had to send back a lot of fresh meat. But things got better! By 2008, MeatCo began sending its meat to new places like Switzerland and Dubai.

In 2012, the Namibian government announced a change for MeatCo. Most of the company (70%) would be owned by a group of people working together, called a cooperative. The government would still own the remaining 30%.

MeatCo continued to grow. In 2017, it sent its first beef to China. The company also worked hard to improve its finances. In 2018, MeatCo's losses dropped a lot, which was good news.

In January 2020, Mushokabanji Mwilima became the new CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of MeatCo. The very next month, MeatCo made history by becoming the first company to send African beef to the USA! MeatCo also started working to send meat to Europe again and even looked into buying more cattle from Botswana because of a drought in Namibia. The company also took over managing a meat factory in Katima Mulilo.

In May 2020, a well-known businessman named Johnnie Hamman became the new Chairperson of MeatCo.

What MeatCo Does

MeatCo mainly prepares frozen, vacuum-packed beef cuts to send to other countries. They also make ready-to-eat meat and corned beef. All their organic products come from Namibian cattle that roam freely.

MeatCo's biggest customers are currently South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Norway. However, they also sell their products in many other countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, China, and Dubai.

The company has many facilities (places where they work) in different towns. Some of these are Windhoek, Okapuka, Johannesburg, London, Oshakati, Katima Mulilo, Otjiwarongo, Grootfontein, and Okahandja.

MeatCo's meat factories are checked and approved by important international standards like HACCP (which ensures food safety) and ISO 9001 (which means they have good quality management). This allows them to export their meat to many places.

MeatCo also owns a part of a company in Norway called GPS Norway AS.