As people trickle back to work in 2024, the news in the poultry industry is still concerned with the shortages and price increases from last year.
Of new interest, is the export outlook for Brazil, our most active poultry trading partner, and how emerging farmers are stamping their authority on the industry.
National News
Our rock-star agricultural economist, Wandile Sihlobo, analyses our agricultural outlook for 2024, and makes the surprising discovery that our agricultural sector is more robust than people expect.
It is unfortunate that the poultry industry does not feature in this growth.
Statistics are inconclusive but it appears that the poultry sector has been growing by an average of 1.8% per year for the last few decades – below our population growth.
The biggest bottle-neck is the cost of feed: the most successful poultry producers in the world have robust feed production that supports their poultry industries.
Consumer News
Anyone who has visited a supermarket in the last few months will attest that the basket gets smaller and smaller while the cost gets larger and larger. Nine staple foodstuffs increased in price by more than 20% in 2023.
Industry News
While South Africa faces the possibility of recurring Avian Flu outbreaks (and was hobbled by loadshedding), Brazil has managed to dodge that bullet (for now) and increase its exports.
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Starting small does not mean staying small. This emerging farmer has her sights on bigger things.
