AGRICULTURAL NEWS - The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) said on Thursday it was concerned about what it called irresponsible claims by a consumer protection body and a new organisation for black chicken importers and exporters in support of predatory trade from Brazil, at the expense of local jobs.
Last week, the South African National Consumer Union (SANCU) and the Emerging Black Importers and Exporters South Africa (EBieSA) said an application by SAPA to increase import tariffs on chicken might put consumers under further financial strain and impact food security for the poor.
On Thursday, SAPA, which says it represents hundreds of chicken farmers both big and small, said it had seen first-hand “the devastation that uncontrolled dumping over the past few years has wrought on especially emerging black farmers”.
It said imports, 61% of which came from Brazil, currently outnumbered the output of even the biggest South African producer.
“In the last six months, SAPA has watched with distress as almost half of the small farmers we had regular contact with have gone out of business, due to the simple fact that their potential markets have been flooded by ever-increasing volumes of dumped chicken,” it said.
“The hundreds of workers these farmers employed have now joined the ranks of the unemployed. The import tariffs that are in place have not slowed this down in the slightest… in fact, Brazil increased its exports to take up the slack that was caused when avian flu in the EU closed those borders temporarily.”
