LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – In keeping with its famous motto, Zambeef has vowed to continue feeding the nation, despite the Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) outbreak.

The country’s largest food producer and retailer continues to stand true to its mission despite the COVID-19 pandemic that is adversely impacting the manufacturing sector in Zambia and beyond. The viral disease is threatening the country’s hard-won food security.

“Although COVID-19 is creating great uncertainty in the security of the supply of goods and services, we will never abandon our core business of feeding the nation. We will ensure all our retail and macro outlets countrywide are fully stocked,” said Zambeef Chief Executive Officer Walter Roodt.

Mr Roodt emphasised that Zambeef will beef-up production levels to ensure Zambia is food secure during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is a high demand for quality food across the country at present. As the world is battling, with a never before known viral infection, it is important to ensure a diet rich in proteins and dairy products is consumed. Therefore, as Zambia’s largest food company, we will respond accordingly by keeping our production balanced with increased market demand” he noted.

Mr Roodt assured that all Zambeef retail and macro outlets in the country will operate normally, yet with scaled-up hygiene standards and social distancing protocols.
“This is in line with the government’s directive to keep businesses that produce essential goods and services running. Food is essential for our immune systems to stand a chance of winning a viral infection. Therefore, we remain essential to the nation, even more so in these uncertain times,” he explained.
He also urged customers to continue supporting their local retail and food brands, which in turn meant they were supporting local farmers across the country and thus helping the economy.

The Zambeef CEO appealed to customers to comply with preventive measures against COVID-19 being implemented at all Zambeef retail and macro outlets across the nation.
“Please wash your hands with soap before entering our outlets. Please also regularly make use of the hand-sanitisers that are available and observe the social distancing protocols being enforced, and let’s fight COVID-19 with you,” he stressed.

Mr Roodt also urged customers to continue to practice good food safety and hygiene practices during the COVID-19 outbreak as recommend by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Although the virus is not spread from animals to humans, the virus can survive for days on various surfaces such as animal products, even down to temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius.

“Meat products, according to WHO, should be thoroughly cooked and properly handled during preparation. You should wash your hands between handling raw and cooked food and use different chopping boards and knives for raw meat and cooked food,” he said.

Mr Roodt reiterated Zambeef’s commitment to feeding the nation and fighting COVID-19 with the nation.

“We are all in this together, until we emerge victorious,” he emphasised.

About Zambeef Products Plc
Zambeef Products Plc is the largest integrated cold chain food products and agribusiness company in Zambia and one of the largest in the region, involved in the primary production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, eggs, dairy products, fish, flour and stockfeed, throughout Zambia and the surrounding region, as well as Nigeria and Ghana.
It has 228 retail outlets throughout Zambia and West Africa.

The company is one of the largest suppliers of beef in Zambia. Five beef abattoirs and three feedlots located throughout Zambia, with a capacity to slaughter 230,000 cattle a year. It is also one of the largest chicken and egg producers in Zambia, with a capacity of 8.8m broilers and 22.4 million day-old chicks a year.

It is one of the largest piggeries, pig abattoirs and pork processing plants in Zambia, with a capacity to slaughter 75,000 pigs a year, while its dairy has a capacity of 120,000 litres per day.

The Group is also one of the largest cereal row cropping operations in Zambia, with approximately 7,973 hectares of row crops under irrigation, which are planted twice a year, and a further 8,776 hectares of rainfed/dry-land crops available for planting each year.

Zambeef employs over 7,400 people with a total wage bill of K38 million per month.

More information is available at www.zambeefplc.com