Namibia battles cattle disease outbreak as EU suspends several meat imports

Windhoek, Namibia – “We had to close the market for several days. It was just before the weekend and month’s end. That’s when we need the money the most,” says Francisco, a vendor at Single Quarter, Windhoek’s largest open meat market.He pours vinegar and cooking oil into a tomato and onion salsa, a traditional accompaniment to kapana, a popular grilled-meat street food. Around him, many stalls and grilling stations sit empty. Instead of the crowds that typically fill the market during business hours, only a handful of customers move between the stalls.Recent closures and concerns about meat supplies have disrupted business.“Our business is slow. We are struggling to buy meat, but without it, we cannot survive,” says another kapana vendor, who asked to remain anonymous. “This is our livelihood. The meat is much more expensive now, so we are making less money altogether. If this continues for three months, it is going to be very bad for us.”In Katutura, Windhoek’s largest township, uncertainty over beef supplies is adding to residents’ financial concerns.“If we don’t eat meat, what are we going to eat? We are Namibians,” one resident says, describing meat as a staple of the local di...