Botswana's threatened beef industry has suffered a nightmare with beef export revenues declining drastically in the first two months of 2012 compared to the same period last year.

According to Bank of Botswana (BoB) statistics released this week, beef exports recorded $14.2 million in the first two months of 2011 and 4.9 million dollars this year.

The massive decline was mainly due to the loss of the European Union (EU) market last year. In January, the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) warned that it might loose 11.9 million dollars in revenue if Botswana were not readmitted to the EU market.

"If beef exports to the EU market do not resume in the first quarter of this year we are likely to loose millions of Pula," BMC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Falepau said in a press statement.

The EU recommended that the BMC should put in place clear documented procedures and relevant official controls in order to ensure only eligible animals are slaughtered for export to the EU. This came after the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the Ngamiland District last year.

The beef sector plays an important role in the country's economy in terms of foreign exchange earnings, family incomes and employment.

The value of output from the livestock sector is estimated at about 80 percent of the total value of the agriculture and allied sectors, and this is contributed by the beef sector alone.

Figures show that beef is the fourth largest export commodity accounting for 3.5 percent of export revenues. Moreover, between 2006 and 2010, the total beef export revenues to the EU stood at 100.9 million dollars, peaking at a record high of 70.7 million dollars in 2009.

In her search for alternative outlets, Botswana looked at other markets such as Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Over the years, the number of cattle supplied to the BMC by farmers has been declining whilst domestic consumption has been rising. As a result output at the BMC abattoirs has dropped.