Red meat exports bring SA R2bn

Cape Town - The value of red meat exports from South Africa has increased from R791m in 2013 to R2.14bn last year and the Western Cape aims to boost this figure, according to Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde.

He was speaking at the Red Meat Abattoir Association Annual Conference and Congress, which took place at the Spier Wine Farm near Stellenbosch on Thursday.

"Red meat exports add billions to the national economy each year and the abattoirs in the province make sure we can sell our produce to the world," he said.

He added that producing and exporting more products to other countries generates more agriculture jobs across the value chain.

Winde said the game meat industry presents additional economic opportunities, noting that regulations to control the hygienic slaughter of game meat are in the final stages of development.

"This is a fast-growing, multi-million rand industry," he remarked.

"We prioritise these industries because in the Western Cape our most urgent goal is ramping up jobs and growth," he said.

Winde pointed out that through the Project Khulisa growth strategy. This project falls under Provincial Strategic Goal 1, which focuses on job creation and opportunities to help improve the province's economy.

Project Khulisa aims to grow agri-processing in the Western Cape by:

    - Exploring new infrastructure projects
    - Improving regulation
    - Promoting and supporting Western Cape products locally and abroad.

The province, said Winde, has set a goal of doubling the size of the agri-processing sector and adding up to a further 100 000 jobs to the sector by 2019.

"The red meat industry is a critical player in helping us achieve this," he said.

"One way we’ll reach this target is by increasing demand for our produce locally and by boosting our capacity to process goods for export."