CHICKEN imports reached a new record high in 2018, according to an imports report drawn up by the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) and based on official SA Revenue Service statistics.
Imports in 2018 totalled 538 434 tons, an increase on the previous record year 2016, when 528 108 tons of chicken reached this country.
Frozen chicken portions – the imports including the popular bone-in portions that have harmed local producers and killed South African jobs – went up from 221 218 tons in 2014 to 383 297 tons last year
Imports in 2018 were 19% higher than the five-year average from 2013 to 2017. Imports of frozen bone-in portions went up 23.2% to 287 071 tons in 2018.
“These continuing high volumes of imports show that the crisis facing our chicken industry is real and getting worse,” said Izaak Breitenbach, General Manager of SAPA’s Broiler Organisation.
“Every ton of imports represents South African jobs lost or not created. SAPA has calculated that we could create 30 000 jobs by replacing chicken imports.”
Brazil has become the dominant source of imported chicken, accounting for 60,5% of poultry imports in 2018. Poultry imports from Brazil increased from 241 180 tons in 2015 to 348 155 tons last year.
A table produced by SAPA shows that total frozen broiler imports rose from 368 201 tons in 2015 to 538 434 tons in 2018. The value of all poultry imports in 2018, including mechanically deboned meat, is R6 billion.
“The relentless surge of imports illustrates the need for the government to step in and protect the local industry and the thousands of jobs involved. We are an efficient industry, but we cannot compete against imports dumped below the cost of production, or from countries with a long history of agricultural subsidies,” said Breitenbach.
(ISSUED: South African Poultry Association)
