1. Selecting alternative export markets for Namibia's red meat products: Application of a decision support model
- Author
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D.C. Spies, Ernst Idsardi, and Ermie Steenkamp
- Subjects
Economics and Econometrics ,Decision support system ,business.industry ,Geography, Planning and Development ,Vulnerability ,Market access ,Agricultural economics ,Economic partnership agreement ,Commerce ,Agriculture ,Interim ,Red meat ,Economics ,media_common.cataloged_instance ,European union ,business ,Agronomy and Crop Science ,media_common - Abstract
The Namibian red meat industry is the backbone of the local agricultural sector, contributing almost 75% to total agricultural output. Through its export activities, the red meat industry is also an important generator of foreign exchange. However, Namibia exports its red meat to only a few trading partners, including South Africa (46%) and the European Union (EU) (29%). This is raising concerns because Namibia could lose its preferential (i.e. duty- and quota-free) market access into the EU with the expiry of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) in 2014, while over-reliance on only a few markets increases the export sector's vulnerability to external shocks. Namibia therefore needs to diversify its markets for red meat. The purpose of this paper is to identify new export markets as realistic alternatives to the traditional main markets of South Africa, the EU and Norway. A Decision Support Model (DSM) was applied as the market selection tool in this study. The DSM consists of four fi...
- Published
- 2014
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