Latest news with #Avian
The Citizen
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
No chicken shortage expected as SA bans imports from Brazil
The Department of Agriculture has banned all fresh and frozen chicken imports from Brazil following an outbreak of avian influenza in that country, according to South African Poultry Association (SAPA) general manager Izaak Breitenbach. The ban on chicken imports from Brazil is not expected to lead to a shortage of chicken meat in South Africa. 'Brazil does not have a compartmentalisation agreement with South Africa, which would have allowed imports from unaffected regions, so no chicken imports are allowed from anywhere in that country,' Breitenbach told Farmer's Weekly. Cooked or heat-treated chicken will also not be allowed to be imported from Brazil due to the potential threat it poses to the local industry. Despite this, Breitenbach said the ban would not negatively affect South African chicken supplies or prices. 'South African producers should be able to make up for the shortfall, as we are entering a time of lower demand,' he said. He pointed out that South Africa produces more than 80% of the chicken consumed locally. 'Brazil supplies most of our chicken imports, equating to about 18% of local production, but only 4.5% of these imports comprise bone-in chicken portions, such as leg quarters, drumsticks and wings,' Breitenbach said. Processed meat may be hit More than 60% of the chicken imported from Brazil consisted of mechanically deboned meat used in processed products such as polonies and sausages. Breitenbach said a shortage of these products, which are categorised as 'red meats' and not chicken, could occur. Avian influenza is currently disrupting trade in various countries, but Breitenbach noted that South African outbreaks traditionally occur in spring, when wild birds migrate from Europe and other parts of the world. These birds are routinely tested to identify potential outbreaks, and none have tested positive for the disease so far this year. South Africa has not experienced an outbreak in 2024, but suffered major losses in 2023, when over 9.6 million birds were culled. The industry reportedly incurred direct losses of more than R9.5b during the outbreak. Prices for poultry meat and eggs soared, with egg prices increasing by over 30%. Breitenbach said SAPA had met with Minister John Steenhuisen of the Department of Agriculture to address biosecurity and monitoring protocols that prevent farmers from vaccinating birds against avian influenza, as culling infected birds is not an effective control measure. 'Minister Steenhuisen has escalated our concerns in the department to enable vaccination. However, even if we start vaccinating today, it will not be soon enough to protect the birds against a possible outbreak in spring, as all the long-life birds, which are typically kept for about a year, would need to be vaccinated.' Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
San Diego man accused of trying to smuggle 17 exotic birds into the U.S.
(Above: Nexstar Media Wire video on endangered versus threatened species) SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A man from San Diego appeared in federal court this week after being accused of attempting to smuggle 17 exotic birds into the United States from Mexico. According to a complaint, Ricardo Alonzo, 26, was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers while trying to cross through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said. Passenger arrested after alleged bomb threat reported on plane leaving San Diego During a search of his vehicle, officers found four bags with 10 burrowing parakeets, five yellow-crowned Amazon parrots and two red-lored Amazon parrots under the rear seat. The two red-lored Amazon chicks who were in Alonzo's vehicle died and were transferred to a quarantine facility managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prosecutors stated. The announcement came just about a week after CBP officers announced they recently stopped previous attempts to smuggle 27 parrots and three chickens into the U.S. at both the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry. Amazon parrots are a native species to Mexico, the West Indies and northern South America, and burrowing parakeets are native to Chile and Argentina, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. All species of Amazon parrots and the burrowing parakeets are listed as endangered species. If successfully smuggled into the country, authorities deem them dangerous due to the possibility of them carrying and spreading Avian influenza (bird flu), the attorney's office stated. Bird flu is highly contagious and may lead to severe symptoms or death in humans and other birds, including poultry on U.S. farms. Alonzo faces charges of importation contrary to law and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison plus a $250,000 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
eNCA
20-05-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Brazil bird flu outbreak sparks fear of ban
JOHANNESBURG - Meat importers have their feathers ruffled over a possible ban on Brazilian poultry. It comes after an outbreak of Avian flu in the South American country. They say government should only target affected areas and not cull the whole country. Brazil accounts for 84 percent of all poultry imports. CEO of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters, Imameleng Mothebe, says this outbreak will have a repelling effect on the South African economy.
The South African
07-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
6 essential FOOD items that are cheaper than before
Essential food items are under the spotlight following Treasury's about-face on 2025 VAT increases. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana proposed an increase in VAT but would counter this by adding more essential food items to the VAT-exempt list. Nevertheless, data from the latest Essential Food Price Monitoring (EFPM) report suggests many of these items have seen price improvements anyway. The following essential food items in South Africa have shown price decreases (however modest) … Administered by the Competition Commission, the EFPM tracks a host of essential food items in South Africa. Included sunflower oil, brown bread, eggs, chicken and maize meal: For the review period, there have been lower-than-average retail prices for brown bread. Moreover, the farm-to-producer spread increased from 75% to 77% late in 2024. However, this expansion occurred due to lower wheat prices, but did not translate into commensurate producer prices. As such, the Competition Commission says this may warrant proactive engagement to analyse producers' financial results. The report finds that the gap between farm value and producer prices fell from 27% to 23% in Q4 2024. This was caused by lower producer prices towards the end of last year. Currently, egg producer prices are at their lowest point since 2023. Although prices are still higher than the long-term average. This is attributed to the Avian flu outbreak of late 2023 that severely affected the egg value chain. Since then, while positive, prices have still been slow to recover. Meanwhile, the price gap between producer and retail prices for chicken is still below 38%. This suggests there has not been a significant change in retailers' and producers' pricing behaviour for this essential food item. However, players in the industry have experienced improvements in operations and profitability due to the easing of load-shedding and other factors. There are still to reflect in more than modest retail price improvement. Canned pilchards enjoy a steady trend of declining price spreads for this essential food item. Over the past six months it has dropped from 19% to 17%. Nevertheless, this drop in retail price is offset by producer prices increasing over the review period. As a result, the report praised the restraint shown by producers and retailers in their pricing behaviour to ensure affordability. The essential food item of maize meal has been under immense pressure ever since the midsummer dryness of February 2024. Therefore, the upward pricing trend that began in March 2024 continued for the rest of the year. However, higher maize meal prices have not been fully transmitted to producer and retail prices. As a result, stable average retail prices actually enjoyed a drop from 33% to 26% in Q4 of 2024. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Deccan Herald
06-05-2025
- Health
- Deccan Herald
Trump signs order restricting research that enhances pathogens
The ban on federal funding of gain-of-function research applies to China and Iran, among other countries, the White House said. Gain-of-function research studies enhancements to pathogens such as Avian influenza, SARS and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS viruses.
