From a chicken farmer’s point of view, the imbalances in SA’s trade with the EU are worse than trade and industry minister Rob Davies is letting on ("SA Trade with EU Remains Unbalanced", February 18).
Even with the bird flu restrictions that slowed EU exports to SA we import far more EU chicken than we export to them. The EU bears much of the blame for this, but our inadequately resourced department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries’ food-safety inspectorate enables EU countries to block SA chicken on technical grounds.
If the trade in chicken is to be more balanced, both SA and the EU need to do more to level the playing field.
EU countries target the SA market, dumping chicken leg quarters below their cost of production, while EU producers make their profits by selling breast meat at high prices. South Africans love leg quarters, and the loss of market share means all of us who produce chicken have had to limit our potential growth. Our industry is in crisis.
Now we have a new economic partnership agreement with the EU, which Davies was celebrating with his EU counterparts. In terms of this agreement, SA could send unlimited quantities of breast meat to the EU, tariff-free — provided, of course, that we meet EU food-safety standards.
And that’s the problem. Our underfunded, underresourced, understaffed department doesn’t have the facilities to provide the certificates that the EU requires. Until that happens, the open door into the EU is meaningless.
If the EU would provide some of the funds, perhaps the department, the department of trade and industry and Treasury could provide the rest. Then SA farmers like myself could sell chicken breast meat in the EU at those high prices and grow our businesses and the industry.
Jake Mokwene
SA Poultry Association
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.