Namibia’s minister of agriculture has urged farmers in the Southern African country to look at alternative markets for its charcoal and beef products since the European Union, one of its largest trading partners, has implemented nontariff barriers that came into force in 2023.

A unilateral decision by the European Union to impose regulations on agricultural products from Namibia that come from areas that have been deforested has raised concerns regarding market access for products such as beef and charcoal.

These products will no longer have access to the European market unless they comply with the new rules that Namibian Minister of Agriculture Calle Schlettwein describes as stringent and prohibitive.

“When you want to conduct agriculture, you have to clear lands. We have [the] charcoal industry. We have a number of industries in the agricultural sector where we do have an impact on deforestation. And I said that farmers must be careful that if they do that, they must be in compliance with these regulations.”

The chairperson of the Namibia Biomass Industry Group, which represents over 150 members in the sector, Colin Lindeque, says the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will not negatively impact exports to the EU.

He said the EU is only asking for additional information. It wants geographic location tags that show that the charcoal they are exporting does not come from areas that have been deforested, but rather areas that are regarded as savannah, an argument with which Schlettwein disagrees.

Lindeque told VOA the regulations are fair, and the members of the Bio-mass Industry Group are compliant and meet the new EU requirements.

“There was a consultant here recently from the EU looking at EUDR, and they specifically said Namibia’s bush encroachment is definitely not a forest in their opinion. But one of the challenges is our government hasn’t made the distinction, and that is actually the bigger point of interest, because we in the current Forest Act of 2001 do not even define what a forest is.”

Director of Forestry at Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Johnson Ndokosho, says the ambiguities in the country’s law regarding what is considered a forest, woodlands and savannah are being dealt with in the new Forestry Act, which is being revised.

He cautioned that Namibia is at the mercy of the EU when it comes to whether Namibia’s beef and charcoal will still be able to enter their market.

“If they found that maybe this beef is coming out of an area where deforestation is occurring, then that may affect our exports.”

Last year, Namibia exported 270,000 tons of charcoal worth $72 billion (1.3 billon NAD) mainly to South Africa, which then exports it to other markets, including Europe. Europe is the top destination for Namibia’s beef, with the union consuming about 80 percent of the country’s total exports valued at roughly $23.5 million (420 million NAD).

Namibia is not the only country affected by the new EU regulations. Other countries include Brazil, Cameroon and Nigeria.

Products that are affected by the new EU regulations include cocoa, soy, palm oil and coffee.