We are seeing a recovery in SA’s beef exports. Last year SA’s cumulative beef exports increased 30% from 2023 to 38,657 tonnes. About 57% of this was fresh beef, and 43% frozen beef. The key markets include China, Egypt, UAE, Jordan, Angola, Mozambique, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Mauritius.
For this export momentum to continue we must intensify efforts to control animal diseases. Three years before this recovery SA beef exports declined due to reduced slaughtering volumes and temporary closures in some key export markets. The major challenge was animal disease outbreaks countrywide, primarily foot-and-mouth disease.
Animal disease outbreaks are not unique to SA but are common worldwide, as we see in the US, parts of the UK and Europe. However, SA’s challenges have intensified in recent years due to specific biosecurity weaknesses. In 2022 six of SA’s nine provinces reported outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease. It was the first time in the country that the disease had spread this widely.
The challenging place the country found itself in prompted government and industry stakeholders to increase their focus on strengthening farm biosecurity controls and surveillance. Other interventions still under way include efforts to improve SA’s veterinary and related support services, primarily the laboratories, which deal with vaccine production needs.
The cost of diseases in the livestock industry is felt through the loss of livestock, reduced exports to the global market during outbreaks, and a slowdown in the country’s agricultural fortunes.
Livestock and poultry account for about half of agriculture’s gross value added. Therefore, to ensure solid growth in the SA farming economy we must devote sufficient resources and human capital to strengthening animal health.
Moreover, livestock also significantly contributes to the inclusion of black farmers in commercial agricultural production. The prevalence of animal disease outbreaks in recent years has thus arguably slowed the process of inclusion and transformation in the sector.
Not out of the woods
This improvement in disease control has partly contributed to the recovery in exports in 2024. However, the industry is not yet out of the woods. There have been recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape. These require a sharper focus to contain them, allowing the unaffected provinces to continue their export activities.
In the long term we will need to systematically enhance our biosecurity controls to reduce the frequency of these diseases. The starting point could be revitalising Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), a state-owned vaccine manufacturer, and the Agricultural Research Council.
For some time the OBP has experienced challenges with vaccine manufacturing, and SA has had to rely on importing products from countries such as Botswana. Rooting out corruption and rebuilding capacity in these organisations is crucial to driving SA’s agricultural sector.
The continuous promotion of exports by private SA companies, organisations and industry representatives such as Red Meat Industry Services and the National Animal Health Forum is vital.
Continuous efforts on beef exports
We must work more strongly to open new export markets for the beef industry, especially in the Brics grouping, the broader Middle East and the EU. The robust focus on promoting exports, with the marketing of SA beef globally and domestically, and the focus on strengthening animal health, are vital for the progress of our farming economy.
Maintaining animal health — strengthening its biosecurity and reviving vaccine manufacturing — is key to SA’s ambition for red meat exports.
Sihlobo is chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA.
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