23-05-2025
No chicken shortage on the horizon for SA despite global bird flu concerns
There will be no chicken shortage in South Africa, assures SAPA.
Despite global disruptions in the poultry industry caused by outbreaks of avian influenza, a shortage of chicken in South Africa remains highly unlikely.
This is according to the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), which has confirmed that local producers have sufficient capacity to handle any potential shortfall resulting from restrictions on chicken imports, particularly from Brazil.
South Africa's domestic poultry sector – a R65 billion industry and the country's largest agricultural employer with nearly 58,000 jobs – currently slaughters around 21.5 million chickens per week.
According to SAPA's Broiler Organisation CEO, Izaak Breitenbach, the industry has already increased its capacity to process up to 22.5 million birds weekly, leaving room to scale up in the event of rising demand or reduced imports.
'As the winter months are a period of lower demand for chicken, the additional supply should be sufficient to ensure there are no shortages of chicken meat, or price increases, because of shortages,' said Breitenbach.
