Approval for Astral Foods to vaccinate a portion of its poultry breeding stock against bird flu may be a turning point for the sector but the path to wider use remains complex, with regulatory, production and traceability hurdles still in play.
While the green light marks the country’s first commercial use of a bird flu vaccine, Astral said the move was only a “small step forward in the greater context of the industry”, and that broader protection would require continued collaboration with the agriculture department and other stakeholders.
The company on Monday confirmed that it had received permission from the department to begin vaccinating one of its breeding farms in Gauteng representing just 5% of its total broiler breeding stock. The approval follows an 18-month application process and applies specifically to the H5 strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus.
“Now that Astral has a successful ‘blueprint’ application in place we will work with the department of agriculture to expand this to other farms. This is a very important part of our next steps,” the company said.
The implications for food security, production continuity and consumer protection are significant. Bird flu outbreaks in 2023 led to widespread culling of breeding stock, sharp egg shortages and price spikes. In the same year, according to Opportune Investments chief investment officer Chris Logan, Astral incurred R395m in direct costs related to the disease.
Vaccination is now seen as a critical step to reducing that risk.
“This is an encouraging step by the department of agriculture and follows a lengthy scientific assessment process,” said Agricultural Business Chamber of SA chief economist Wandile Sihlobo.
“We all recall the 2023 avian influenza outbreak that resulted in egg shortages and higher prices. Therefore, SA’s decision to kick-start the vaccination is a welcome development, and an approach we should follow even in the years to come.”
Astral confirmed that vaccinating would not affect poultry prices, saying that the expense would essentially take the place of the insurance premiums they previously paid for disease coverage.
The vaccine approval came with stringent requirements such as veterinary oversight, secure storage of vaccines, full traceability and continuous diagnostic monitoring, the company said. Only breeding stock, not broilers destined for meat production, would be vaccinated, and all vaccinated poultry were required to be clearly identifiable throughout the supply chain.
“There is no risk to consumer health. The vaccine will act just like any other vaccine applied to poultry livestock or humans. It is no different to the flu vaccine jab many people get every year,” Astral said.
This sets an early precedent and could offer Astral a temporary edge, according to Logan. He said the ability to vaccinate against bird flu could help boost investor confidence in an industry known for its volatility and exposure to multiple risks.
“It could give Astral a competitive advantage for a period as I would expect that the other producers will do all they can to gain similar approvals. On the margin, the ability to vaccinate against bird flu will improve investor sentiment to the volatile poultry industry, which is subject to numerous risks and challenges.”
Logan also said that bird flu was no longer covered by insurance on a global scale, and with no government compensation in place for related losses, vaccination was becoming an essential strategy for managing risk.
In June, the government eased its poultry import ban from Brazil, excluding the flu-hit state of Rio Grande do Sul. The move, after a May suspension, was welcomed by industry bodies as a science-based step to protect supply chains and food security, especially given Brazil’s dominance in SA’s poultry imports.
Sihlobo said SA now needed to invest in domestic vaccine manufacturing and long-term biosecurity systems.
“We boast of being the leading agricultural producer on the African continent, but that ranking and status cannot last for long if there is no serious investment in vaccine manufacturing and improvement of biosecurity controls, both for animal and plant health,” he said.
“We have also witnessed in recent years that outbreaks of various diseases are becoming more frequent. This means there is now greater urgency for … [a] focus on biosecurity.”
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