Bringing high-quality Botswana meat to consumers worldwide is the mission of the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), the biggest and most highly ranked producer of beef in Africa. Outlining BMC’s long-term strategy, Dr. Akolang R. Tombale, CEO, explains, “Botswana has around 2.5 million cattle, and 10% of these are available per year. BMC has the capacity to slaughter 200,000 a year, so we are focused on niche markets as we cannot compete on economies of scale with markets like Brazil. To be competitive globally, we need to guarantee quality, consistency and regularity of our meat supplies, and this means we need to upgrade our quality production.”
To achieve this goal, BMC has implemented international standards for its meat, including ISO 9001, Halal certification, and the British Retail Consortium Standard. Dr. Akolang R. Tombale says
proudly, “We have been rated a grade-A facility for the past three years, which makes us one of the few facilities to have that rating in the world.”
Premium products for European markets
Around 22% of BMC’s meat exports were to Europe in 2014 (mainly to Norway, Italy and the UK), and these exports accounted for around half the company’s revenues. BMC aims to export only premium beef products, including steaks, to European markets.
Botswana’s meat industry has had to cope with many challenges over the years, including an outbreak of food-and-mouth-disease in 2010 and 2011 which prevented Botswana from exporting its beef and which created significant financial problems for BMC. Now BMC is concentrating on helping local farmers meet high international standards in order to boost global demand for Botswana beef and increase the country’s beef exports. Dr. Akolang R. Tombale also hopes to launch a “farm assurance” programme in 2016 so that consumers will know exactly where and how their meat was produced.
At its plants in Lobatse, Francistown and Maun, BMC employs 1,300 people. The company is currently restructuring its operations to become more profitable. “Over the past three years, we have achieved a 25% profit margin with a 57% growth in revenues. We need to manage the high cost of production,” Dr. Akolang R. Tombale says.
BMC is partnering with Standard Chartered in its restructuring drive and is open to investors once the restructuring is complete. A priority for BMC is to modernise its plants, particularly in Lobatse. Dr. Akolang R. Tombale concludes, “We welcome strategic partners who can help us reach our ambitious goals for Botswana’s high-potential meat industry.”
Head Office
Botswana Meat Commission
Private Bag 4, Lobatse
Tel.: +267 534 1234
UK Sales Office
BMC UK Holdings Ltd
Queensgate
Britannia Rd
Waktham Cross Hert ENS 7TF
Tel.: +44 (0) 1992 807990
www.bmc.bw
