The beef industry provides food and livelihood to thousands of people in the country; therefore disruptions within the supply chain can have a significant impact on the company's profit, leading to a domino effect in all aspects of the business.

Meatco works on a three-month production planning schedule, with the aim of placing 70% of production forward to regular, key customers such as those in the EU markets.

Serving these clients requires consistent supply and we can only do that when we have enough raw materials. Supply becomes challenging if delivery agreements are not honoured.

The production schedule helps Meatco identify the number of clients that need to be supplied at any given time to maintain our market share and to maximise producer returns.

For this reason, it is important for producers to assist Meatco to better plan ahead and further grow the industry as this will have a positive effect on producer prices and the business as a whole.

“No-shows” creates a problem, as most of the time the booked cattle cannot be replaced on time with cattle from other producers.  This situation can potentially cause fellow producers to lose slaughter space to a “no-show” producer in peak times.

Farmers are therefore urged to work closely with their procurement office/ Technical Advisor to notify us well in advance if they want to cancel their slaughter slots so that we remain in a position to develop alternatives that will mitigate potential disruptions.

Meatco is committed to all its stakeholders to increase demand. That's why it is important to point out issues that are often disregarded by one segment, but have an impact on the entire industry.