The just ended Lobatse International Beef Festival gave revelers a taste of the world famous Botswana beef. The festival, which was hosted at the Lobatse Town Park, had partnered with Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), the exporter of premier beef to international markets, including the high standards European Union market. BMC public relations and Communications Manager, Brian Dioka said Batswana who attended the festival did themselves a favour as they sampled what people in the BMC export market countries only wish for because the products are pricey.
“Whenever we speak about the tale of Lobatse it can never be complete without mentioning the BMC which has existed long before the discovery of diamonds. We need to give the BMC brand some high level of respect because in the early years beef export was the only foreign exchange earner for the country. The country boasts of between 2.5 to 2.8 million head of cattle and the BMC slaughters about 250 000 annually. As you braai the meat, keep in mind that you are eating the best beef there is. Even the queen of England eats Botswana beef,” said Dioka.
Dioka further revealed that the BMC supplies beef to companies on the fortune global list like McDonalds, Wimpy and Burger King. “In recent weeks we were inspected and audited by the European Union and McDonalds and I am proud to announce that we passed with flying colours, For example McDonalds scored us 87% for the Lobatse plant and 89% for the Francistown plant. We are one of the few abbatoirs in the world to score such good grades,” he opined, adding further that the BMC received certification from British Retail Consortium for global standard for food safety.
The festival, according to patrons was well organized, with a family flavour to it. There was a play area for children and a number of exhibitions. However, patrons complained about the size of meat portions they were served arguing that it was not commensurate with the P150 entrance fee they were charged.