There is a market for every part of the beef carcass; farmers just need to seek out that consumer – even if it means moving out of their comfort zone.
Livestock farmers looking for an outlet for their meat often underestimate the value of the informal market, believes Dr Obakeng Mfikwe, Simbra breeder from KMF Farm Holdings at Lichtenburg in North West.
“If you look at the animal as a whole, you can’t ignore any part of it. Yes, the top cuts are important, and you should try to get as much as possible for them, but you can’t overlook the fifth quarter’s impact on your bottom line. We look at every part of the animal and have strategic partnerships with people interested in those parts, like butcheries in townships, shisanyamas, and retail stores. But it takes a lot of courage to look for new consumers from the farm gate.”
Mfikwe participated in a panel discussion about opportunities in the livestock industry at African Farming’s sister publication Landbouweekblad’s recent Livestock Academy at Nampo Park, Bothaville. He said the biggest red meat farmers in South Africa already have good relationships with the large shisanyamas.
Shisanyamas are traditional braai restaurants in townships. “The really big shisanyamas are seen as wholesalers because they sell meat to other shisanyamas. Believe it or not, if you go to a shisanyama in Mahikeng today, you’ll get R300/kg for chuck. Remember, at a shisanyama people buy meat and drinks – that’s all. The reality is some people buy from the shisanyama daily. So, you’re talking about enormous volumes of meat.”
Many opportunities
DF Fyfer, a regenerative farmer from Vryburg, agrees with Mfikwe.
“Everyone concentrates on the premium market and wants to produce something for the woman in Sandton, but we walk past the shisanyama. There are enormous opportunities in that market. Much of your profit lies in the offal and the bones, head and feet.
“My phone rings daily with people looking for walkie-talkies (chicken heads and feet). You can’t produce enough of it.”
Koot Prinsloo, from Langside Meats in Queenstown, Eastern Cape, says meat farmers must be careful about dismissing certain meat as inferior because doing so harms the entire red meat market. He focuses on grass-fed beef but says all farmers in the market need each other.
“If you tell the consumer class A is bad, then the housewife in Clocolan stands in the supermarket, and she doesn’t see my grass-fed beef on the shelf. She just remembers being told class A isn’t good, and then she walks past and goes to buy chicken. We can’t allow this.
“Wagyu, grass-fed and Jersey beef all belong on the same shelf, just like different wines are displayed on a shelf. Every consumer has their preference.”
Mfikwe added to this by saying the positioning of red meat in the market is critical. “Chicken, for example, is seen as the protein for the poor, sending the price in a certain direction. As red meat farmers, we don’t want to price ourselves out of the market and cause people to move away from certain meats simply because they can’t afford them. You also don’t want to position yourself so that the price you get puts you under serious pressure. “It’s therefore about positioning your product correctly and knowing you can’t be everything to everyone.”
