The South African red meat industry reached a defining moment on 4 November 2025, when leaders across the value chain convened to officially launch a national livestock traceability system – a breakthrough many have called the most important development in decades. Hosted by Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS), the launch crowned years of collaboration to build a system that strengthens disease control, market access and competitiveness.
By Maphuti Mongatane, Business Development Manager at African Farming
Opening the event, Chris Burgess, Editor-in-Chief of African Farming and our sister publication Landbouweekblad, traced the journey back to conversations with the late Dr Michael Bradfield, whose vision married scientific breeding with traceability to lift profitability and unlock export premiums: “If we want South African beef to earn global premiums, we must verify quality and integrity. Traceability is how we do that.”
Industry Unity Turns Vision Into Reality
Dewald Olivier, CEO of RMIS, underscored that the achievement rests on unprecedented industry unity: “We stopped waiting for the perfect moment and started acting. When we collaborate, we elevate the entire industry.” He noted that traceability isn’t box-ticking, but instead is a catalyst for growth, transparency and global confidence in South African red meat.
WATCH: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Minister Steenhuisen applauds RMIS for advancing traceability in the red meat sector
Dr Phillip Oosthuizen, Chief Operations Officer at RMIS, described an 18-month build driven by one question: What would farmers and buyers trust enough to use? The answer: a flexible, inclusive platform that integrates existing recordkeeping tools, protects data, aligns with international standards and works for both commercial and smallholder systems. Beyond disease response, the platform supports animal movement tracking, export certification and value-chain transparency.
Also read: RMIS platform could be a game-changer for the red meat industry
In his final remarks, Olivier stitched together the event’s central threads:
- Do it now, then improve: Quoting the spirit of “a good plan executed today beats a perfect plan next week”, he urged the sector not to let perfection stall progress.
- Industry-led trust: The system is built by the industry for the industry; trust must be earned at ground level.
- Data belongs to producers: There’s no appetite for government control of producer data; data sits within industry systems, with structured access only for what’s needed (for example, surveillance).
- One system, many farm realities: South Africa’s heterogeneous agriculture from communal to export feedlots requires choice and inclusivity, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
- From disease resilience to premiums: Effective surveillance enables faster responses and opens premium export markets; the world is hungry for South Africa’s product, and traceability helps prove quality.
- Unity of purpose: Success demands continued cooperation across producers, feedlots, auctioneers, processors, financiers and tech partners; partnership with the public sector is about alignment, not imposition.
“We’ve talked about traceability for years and today, we start doing,” Olivier concluded. “This launch is a giant step that places South Africa in the international arena of credible suppliers and sets the foundation for the value our farmers deserve.”
As rollout proceeds in phases, RMIS and partners will focus on onboarding, training and change management, meeting producers where they are while building export-ready, transparent supply chains. The message from the launch was clear: traceability is the bridge between South Africa’s renowned quality and the global confidence (and premiums) it warrants.
