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IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Avian flu threatens 30,000 jobs and food prices in South Africa
With the recent ban on Brazilian chicken imports, South Africa faces a potential crisis as 30,000 jobs in the food sector hang in the balance, and households brace for soaring food prices. Image: File Following a ban on imports of chicken and related products from Brazil earlier this month, an industry expert has said, in addition to nutritional concerns over a lack of this protein source, an estimated 30 000 jobs in food processing, logistics, and manufacturing are at risk. Georg Southey, manager at Merlog Foods, added that the disruption in inexpensive poultry supplies will also cause price spikes in low-cost proteins, further squeezing struggling households. This followed news in the middle of last month that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Brazil had reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza. This was followed, on May 22, by the South African Department of Agriculture announcing that South Africa had suspended trade of live poultry, eggs and fresh (including frozen) poultry meat, while no new import permits will be issued. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) has said that this was the first recorded outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza within Brazil's commercial poultry sector. It noted that Brazil supplies over 84% of South Africa's poultry imports. AMIE CEO, Imameleng Mothebe, said: 'A full ban on Brazilian poultry imports to South Africa will have devastating consequences for the South African poultry meat processors and consumers, particularly the most vulnerable in our society.' Southey said that this ban could lead to 'one of the most severe food security crises in recent times' and threatened society's most vulnerable, including children reliant on school feeding schemes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Given that the outbreak is confined to a single province in Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Southey called on government to 'act with urgency' to accept imports from all other provinces that remain unaffected by the virus. He said that this strategy was internationally accepted. Brazil also used to supply mechanically deboned meat used in polony, viennas, and sausages. 'These provide affordable protein to millions of South Africans,' said Southey, adding that neither local producers nor other countries could meet demand in the short-term. Warning that South Africa only had 2.5 weeks of food reserves in some categories, Southey said, without alternative measures, there is likely to be a shortage of 400 million meals per month, or seven meals a month per person. 'Two weeks of import shipments have already been lost and a further 100 million meals will be lost every week,' he said. Brazil has already instituted surveillance measures and is sharing real-time data, said Southey. Neighbouring country Namibia and Japan have adopted regionalisation protocols in similar situations, he added. IOL
IOL News
4 days ago
- Health
- IOL News
South Africa faces poultry supply concerns amid Brazilian import ban
Farming associations and agricultural associations have raised concern about the impact of the Department of Agriculture's ban on chicken from Brazil due to an avian influenza outbreak. Image: supplied South Africa is grappling with potential food insecurity this winter after the Department of Agriculture's has banned chicken from Brazil due to an avian influenza outbreak. The ban, effective since May 15, 2023, halts imports of live poultry, eggs, and fresh or frozen poultry meat, raising alarms over the supply of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) and poultry offal critical for affordable processed meats like polony, viennas, and sausages. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters warned on Wednesday of serious economic and food insecurity consequences for South Africa as a result of the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Brazil. 'Local producers cannot, and will not be able to meet the gap in supply of poultry offal (feet, gizzards, and skins) and MDM, driving up prices and threatening the affordability and accessibility of basic protein for millions,' it said. Georg Southey, the manager at Merlog Foods, said on Wednesday said there is likely to be a shortage of 400 million meals per month, which equates to seven meals per person per month across the country. Two weeks of import shipments have already been wasted, and a further 100 million meals will be lost every week if the government continues with business as usual. Southey added that the country has only 2.5 weeks of food reserves in some key categories. 'This will have devastating consequences for food security and exacerbate a dreadful reality that estimates suggest over 30% of South African households in at least four provinces already have inadequate food and often go hungry,' he added. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Arnold Prinsloo, CEO of meat producer Eskort, noted that MDM from Brazil is used by Eskort and its competitors to make polony, viennas, Russians, and Braaiwors. "Production lines will come to a standstill before the end of June if the ban on Brazilian chicken is not lifted. This will deprive South Africa's most vulnerable citizens of more than 400 million low-cost meals per month,' he said. Prinsloo added that vulnerable families and thousands of school feeding schemes rely heavily on polony, and there is a real danger of widespread hunger and malnutrition if Eskort and its competitors cannot sustain supplies. 'The Department of Agriculture, which imposed the Brazil ban on 15 May, should follow the example of Namibia and Mozambique by narrowing the ban to chicken from Rio Grande do Sul, the only state affected by avian flu. The rest of Brazil can be regarded as safe, and a pragmatic and proactive decision to accept imports on that basis will go a long way to heading off the looming crisis in South Africa.' However, Izaak Breitenbach, the CEO of the South African Poultry Association, offered a counterpoint, suggesting the impact on poultry meat supply may be overstated. 'South Africa imports a reduced volume of chicken meat from Brazil, and local production can ramp up quickly, especially as demand typically dips this time of year,' Breitenbach said. While acknowledging a shortage of MDM, which is predominantly imported from Brazil, he noted that South Africa produces minimal MDM domestically and may shift imports to countries like Thailand. 'There will not be a shortage of chicken meat, but MDM supply will be constrained,' he clarified. Investment analyst Anthony Clark from Smalltalkdaily Research said that America and Europe have also reported avian influenza outbreaks. 'Brazil is the biggest exporter of poultry products into South Africa. They have a market share of around 80%, so it is concerning that there is a ban on their products. This means that there is very little chicken coming into this country. However, products that are coming in from Brazil are MDM which goes into processed meat such as polony, viennas, and Russians. The other products that are still coming in from Brazil are chicken offals such as carcasses, heads, and livers.'
