Blaauwberg auctioneers are a partner in tough times

BLAAUWBERG Auctioneers at Otjiwarongo was established in 1997 by Piet Schrader to bring fair competition and market balance to northern Namibia.

“There was only one auction house in northern Namibia and no competition, so producers had no other choice when marketing their cattle,” explained Schrader.

Since 1993, when the borders with South Africa were still open, Schrader sent many slaughter cattle to Blaauwberg Meat Wholesalers in Cape Town, and that is where the name Blaauwberg Auctioneers came from. Blaauwberg Auctioneers is a fully Namibian-owned and managed company which has never had any foreign shareholders, managers or employees, Schrader said proudly.

“We are Namibian-driven, and a customer gets that family feeling when dealing with us,” he said, adding that their first motto was ‘Your partner in tough times’.

This has been changed to ‘Your partner at all times’.

“We enjoy being at the service of our customers at all times, and being at the service gives us immense pleasure. People should use us because we are simply the best in the auctioneering field, and they will get the best prices for their products,” Schrader assured.

Blaauwberg Auctioneers’ services include the whole spectrum of advice from starting farming to the selling of the animals – on when and where to sell.

“We walk all the way with our customers, and share all our knowledge and advice with them as if we are the owners of the product,” he said.

Asked about how they view the current drought, Schrader admitted that this drought is the worst Namibia has seen because it is affecting the whole country.

He explained that auctions are being affected in a “very bad way” because the buyers are getting less, and all the animals being sold either have to leave the country on hoof, or must be slaughtered in Namibia. Slaughter-animals can only be slaughtered by Meatco, or the private local small abattoirs.

“In short, prices are coming down because of supply and demand, and it is affecting both the farmer and the auction house very negatively,” he said.

Schrader added that the auctioneering system involves buying and selling, and supply and demand. The more the animals and the fewer the buyers brings prices down, as is the current situation. The less the animals and the more the buyers pushes prices up, like in good rainy seasons.

“Auctions are the real ‘mirror’ of the current situation, or the price of the day. The customer gets the best price of the day, and is guaranteed immediate payment,” he said.

His advice to producers is that it is better to get a price that is low than selling the skin of a dead animal.

“That is very sad, but true. Farming is not for everyone. Namibian farmers are very tough and have been through many hardships, and there has never been a drought that has never been broken. Let us all be positive, and not focus on the negative because it is too much.”