South Africa poultry industry’s recovery trail and Animal Biosecurity Committee
Government support and consumer behavior accompanied with reopening of export markets have influenced analysts to predict positive recovery of the South Africa’s poultry industry in 2022.
Master plan and consumer behavior
In 2019 the South African Government developed a Master Plan to boost production and supply chain of the poultry industry. The plan emerged as part of the South African Government efforts to strengthen localization of its economy and limit imports. It was partly influenced by complaints from local poultry industry players about imports from places such as Brazil, USA and Europe.
Since 2019 the industry has benefited from investments amounting to 78 million US Dollars. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and challenges related to outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), increasing cost of transport, insufficient rail system, increasing cost of feed materials continue to limit the growth of the industry. On the other hand increasing demand of poultry meat due to increasing cost of other meat based proteins, such as beef, has result in strengthening the industry in 2022, bringing it back to its pre-COVID-19 levels. This recovery will also be experienced as a result of reopening of South Africa’s traditional poultry meat export markets within Africa.
Committee to strengthen Biosecurity systems
As part of Government’s efforts to support the industry, in August South African Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Thoko Didiza appointed a Ministerial Task Team on Animal Biosecurity. This team is focusing on issues related to Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Fever and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. The appointment follows a series of animal disease outbreaks that have affected the country during this and the past years. It also affirms the South Africa’s emphasis on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) for the preparation of the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021.
According to DALRRD’s 24 August media statement, the task team has been given the mandate to find mechanisms and provide recommendations on a range of key decisions related to working together with the private sector to tackle the country’s animal biosecurity issues. The team is expected to come up with practical and realistic strategies that can be implemented by affected stakeholders. Emphasis will be put on the complexity of the overall animal and public health system in a “One Health” approach. The team will liaise with technical task teams of African Swine Fever (ASF), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Avian Influenza (AI). It will consider the roles of provincial government laboratories and private sector laboratories in disease monitoring, residue tests, meat hygiene with emphasis on all stakeholders’ consideration.
Sources: Foreign Agricultural Services for the United States Department of Agriculture; Global Agricultural Information Network and the South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.