By Carien Kruger
Importers and processors of mechanically deboned chicken meat from Brazil warn the import ban could cause shortages of certain products, such as polony for school feeding programmes and low-income households.
Eskort Foods, a producer of meat products, says South Africa is at risk of a food security crisis due to the ban on chicken imports from Brazil after bird flu was first reported on a commercial farm there earlier this month.
Arnold Prinsloo, CEO, says mechanically deboned chicken meat, mainly imported from Brazil, is used by Eskort and its competitors to produce polony, Vienna and Russian sausages, as well as braai sausage. Production will come to a halt before the end of June if the ban is not lifted.
“This will deprive South Africa’s poorest residents of more than 400 million low-cost meals per month. These families and thousands of school feeding programmes rely heavily on polony, and there is a real risk that widespread famine and malnutrition could result if Eskort and its competitors cannot sustain their supply.”
Georg Southey, manager of Merlog Foods, a wholesaler and distributor of frozen food, says two weeks have passed during which no chicken could be shipped from Brazil to South Africa. He says another 100 million meals will be lost with each week the ban continues.
Imameleng Mothebe, CEO of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters of South Africa (AMIE), says chicken offal and mechanically deboned meat are not luxuries. “They are fundamental to school feeding programmes and the production of processed meat, which is the most affordable protein for low-income households.
Local replacement
Prinsloo says the local broiler chicken industry can replace Brazilian imports in terms of fresh and frozen chicken meat, but cannot produce enough mechanically deboned meat. “We rely on Brazil for 92% of our needs, which is why it is such a serious problem.”
Mothebe says the organisation appreciates South African poultry producers who have committed to producing 4 million more chickens per month to fill the gap caused by the ban, but that local producers alone cannot fill the gap in terms of waste and that South Africa also does not produce mechanically deboned chicken meat on a large scale.
According to her, there is also no other international source to replace Brazil’s imports.
AMIE says South Africa imports, on average, the following quantities of certain products from Brazil each month:
- 4 071 tons of chicken feet (54 million chickens are needed for this).
- 467 tons of chicken liver (10 million chickens are needed for this).
- tons of chicken gizzards (31 million chickens are needed for this).
Brazilian zones without bird flu
Prinsloo is calling on the Department of Agriculture to follow the example of Namibia and Mozambique by only applying the ban to chicken meat from Rio Grande Do Sul, the only Brazilian state to have been affected by bird flu so far.
“The rest of Brazil can be considered safe and a pragmatic and proactive decision to accept imports on this basis would go a long way in averting the looming crisis in South Africa.”
Prinsloo also asked the department to expeditiously process Brazil’s application for a zoning agreement between the two countries. Such an agreement would make it possible to apply for recognition of disease-free zones.
Southey says a regional approach to disease outbreaks is scientifically based and consistent with the World Trade Organization’s strategy of balancing the protection of animal health against essential food security and the continuation of economic activity.
Prices have already started to rise
Southey warns the ban will lead to increases in the prices of low-cost protein.
AMIE says the price of mechanically deboned meat has already shot up from R13 to R31/kg. Products such as chicken stomachs and skin have increased by double digits.
Local economy affected
Prinsloo says the ban could cause a socio-economic and political disaster as meat processing plants would have to shut down for at least 60 days. According to Southey, the import ban could put an estimated 30 000 local jobs in food processing, logistics and manufacturing at risk.
