Decisions about the risk and spread of HPAI into South Africa must be taken by the South African authorities — not ceded to the United States, or any other exporting country.(Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
South Africa’s poultry producers have criticised a government decision over highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which is rampant in the United States and Europe, that would harm the local industry.
The department of agriculture’s recent decision to temporarily allow the United States to impose and lift bans on its poultry exports to South Africa when there are bird flu outbreaks in that country would prove to be “devastating” for local producers, South African Poultry Association chief executive Izaak Breitenbach said this week.
“The Americans obviously look after their own producers’ interests so they will do the cut-offs to suit them. In other words, they will sail a lot closer to the wind, to the disease, and therefore risk us. We can’t let America control themselves in terms of the importation and lifting and implementation of bans. That is a huge conflict of interest,” Breitenbach said.
“All poultry-producing states in the US have been affected, and 27 of those states are currently banned by the South African authorities from exporting poultry to this country. By granting the United States the right to determine its own disease status and export policies, the [department of agriculture] has created a serious conflict of interest.
“They can’t control HPAI in their own country, yet they get given the responsibility to control it in South Africa. The risk is palpable: a country grappling with widespread outbreaks of bird flu can now prioritise its own interests and potentially expose South Africa to the very disease that cost this industry R9.5 billion and wiped out 30% of its long-living chicken flock in 2023.”
Breitenbach said the decisions had previously been taken by the department of agriculture based on US notifications to the World Organisation of Animal Health.
“However, the department has now allowed the US to ‘self-impose and self-lift’ bird flu restrictions. This decision — quietly implemented three months ago with no consultation with the domestic industry — is an alarming abdication of its responsibility to defend South Africa’s poultry sector,” he said.
The poultry industry has asked the government to withdraw the “disastrous decision” to grant the concession to the US authorities.
“I met with a representative of Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen this morning [Tuesday] and discussed the whole matter with her and expressed my concerns. She will take the matter up with the minister,” he said.
Graphic by John McCann/MG
Breitenbach said he had recently been made aware that the decision was made in March but it was unclear whether it had been the US or the Association of Meat Importers and Exports (AMIE) in South Africa who had requested the policy shift.
AMIE chief executive Imameleng Mothebe declined to respond to detailed questions regarding the effect of the decision. “At this stage, AMIE is awaiting further guidance from the department of agriculture and is not in a position to comment yet on the new arrangement with the US,” Mothebe said.
“Regarding Brazil, while the department has announced a partial reopening, the market remains closed in practice. We are still seeking clarity from the department and will be better placed to comment once we have an update.”
Breitenbach said the decision was “an unprecedented and reckless shift that compromises South Africa’s disease-free status and threatens both food security and the future sustainability of the poultry sector”.
The move sets a “dangerous precedent” that other large-scale poultry exporters, such as the European Union and Brazil, could soon demand the same latitude, leaving the local poultry industry further exposed to devastating disease outbreaks.
“The overriding concern is clear: decisions about the risk and spread of HPAI into South Africa must be taken by the South African authorities — not ceded to the United States, or any other exporting country,” he said.
“We call on the [department of agriculture] to end this ‘concession’ and restore its role as a protector of the local industry, the workforce it supports and the nation’s food security. The future of South Africa’s poultry sector depends on it.”
According to the South African Poultry Association, the local industry supports 58 000 direct jobs and a total of 110 000 when including indirect jobs.
FairPlay Movement founder Francois Baird said it was a “wrong decision, resulting from a flawed process, and it should be withdrawn immediately”.
He said Mpho Maja, the director of animal health at the department of agriculture, had announced that a temporary concession had been granted to the US to “self-impose and self-lift” bird flu restrictions on US states.
“The policy change was set out in a letter to chicken importers earlier this month. Chicken importers celebrated and called for the concession to be extended to other countries such as Brazil, whose chicken imports have been banned since May due to bird flu outbreaks,” he said.
“South African poultry producers are understandably concerned about potentially imported bird flu, as became clear in statements from the floor and personal comments at the annual AVI poultry conference in Johannesburg this month,” he said.
He said the change was “such an aberrant deviation from settled policy” that the department should have consulted widely, and considered all the risks inherent in a change “before taking such a risky step”.
“We have yet to hear parliament on this issue. South Africa’s policy is to treat each state in the US as a bird flu compartment, and bans are implemented on a state-by-state basis as bird flu outbreaks occur, he said.
Baird warned that it had “severe implications” for local poultry producers and consumers.
“The poultry industry sees the new system as a clear conflict of interest for the United States and, crucially, as a decision that risks importing infected chicken meat into South Africa,” he said.
“This decision has clearly not been thought through carefully. Will the department hand that responsibility over to other governments, such as Brazil which is now compartmentalised for bird flu?
“Or is this part of the trade deal being negotiated between South Africa and the US?”
He said any spread of bird flu as a result of the new measure “will create a health, supply and economic crisis for South Africa and may further encumber diplomatic relations with the US”.
The department of agriculture had not responded to questions at the time of publication despite earlier saying it would comment. It is not clear at this stage for how long the temporary concession will be in force.