The Department of Agriculture recently notified the industry of a partial lifting of the import suspension on all poultry products from Brazil as of 19 June, and that importers are required to submit new applications for veterinary import permits (VIPs).
While South Africans and industry have applauded the move to regionalise imports from Brazil, the two parties have not reached an agreement on the terms of the new Veterinary Health Certificate (VHC) proposed by the South African Department of Agriculture.
As a result, no new permits for poultry imports are being issued, and thus, no poultry trade is taking place between South Africa and Brazil.
South Africa is facing impending shortages of affordable chicken meat products following the recent ban of mechanically deboned meat (MDM), offals, and bone-in chicken imports from Brazil.
MDM is a core ingredient in the production of polony, viennas, russians, and even pet food. Brazil supplies 92% of South Africa’s MDM and 73% of its total poultry imports.
In the wake of the initial blanket ban, consumers are contending with rising chicken prices and decreasing access to affordable chicken products—a situation expected to persist for at least the next two months.
The coming MDM shortage is now further compounded by delays in finalising the proposed VHC agreement. Each day of delay adds weeks to the timeline for resuming imports, deepening food insecurity for millions of lower income consumers.
The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) recently highlighted the socio-economic repercussions:
“Chicken offal and MDM are not luxuries. They are foundational to school feeding programmes, and the production of processed meats which are the most affordable proteins for low-income households.
Ultimately, Brazilian MDM is the source of over 400 million poultry-based meals per month for South Africa.”
What began as a welcome decision to regionalise imports from Brazil has now cast South Africa back into limbo. Meanwhile, Brazil has declared itself 28-days free of avian influenza. The notification process to WOAH (World Organisation for Animal Health) is being conducted by the Secretariat for Agricultural Defence in Brazil.
Industry is urging South Africa and Brazil to expediently conclude engagements to allow the resumption of trade. Until imports stabilise, food security will remain compromised, over 100,000 jobs in the meat sector hang in the balance, and consumers will continue to bear the brunt.
Disease outbreaks are a global reality which necessitates efficient trade policy reforms that uphold WOAH-aligned biosecurity standards while protecting food security and trade relations.
This is an opportunity for South Africa to responsibly adapt its protocols–not only to remedy the current crisis, but to safeguard trade stability and economic resilience against future outbreaks.
ChickenFacts will continue to monitor and report on the latest developments.
