Samoa looks to revive beef exports to territory

Samoa’s Ministry of Agriculture is to build an abattoir for both hygienic reasons and to revive beef exports.

The chief executive of Agriculture, Fonoiava Seali’itu Sesega, says after many years of discussion an abattoir will be built next year with funding from the World Bank.

He says initially it will involve two mobile abattoirs that will go out to farms to slaughter the animals, before a central abattoir is completed.

While some bigger farms have abattoir facilities most don’t and the Government says for health reasons there is a need for greater control.

Fonoiava says legislation banning the sale of beef that does not come from the Ministry of Agriculture’s abattoir is on the way.

The facility will allow a revival of exports to American Samoa after a ban imposed ten years ago because of unacceptable processing standards.

The need for an abattoir was raised in a seminar at the School of Agriculture at the University of the South Pacific in Apia last week.