Beef industry faces dual pressures from disease and market shifts

Botswana’s beef industry is under renewed strain as fresh foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in neighbouring Zimbabwe and South Africa heighten biosecurity risks, even as tougher international market requirements threaten export recovery.

The government has confirmed that the latest FMD outbreak is concentrated in Zimbabwe’s Mangwe district in Matabeleland South, bordering Botswana’s Tutume, North East and Bobirwa districts. The development comes barely a month after South Africa reported similar cases along its border with Botswana, underscoring the fragility of regional animal health controls.