Two weeks ago, FairPlay challenged chicken importers to show that they had not made a killing from high selling prices during the temporary ban in imports from Brazil.
The challenge was published in Vol 247 of the FairPlay Bulletin and in Business Day. The response from importers? Silence.
The issue concerns mechanically deboned meat (MDM), a paste used in the production of processed meats such as polony and viennas. Most of that comes from Brazil. During the nine-week bird flu ban on Brazil, from May to early July, Brazilian supplies were reduced, but prices remained low.
While landed prices for Brazil’s MDM were around R10/kg, importers told Business Day at the start of June that selling prices to local meat producers had risen from R13/kg to R31/kg. Import prices remained low in June and July, FairPlay noted. What had importers charged then? Could MDM have continued to fetch R30/kg, or even R40/kg as was rumoured?
No response. The issue is important, because lower import volumes for a few months will lead to lower revenues for chicken importers.
“FairPlay hopes they have not countered this by finding ways to profit from their temporary crisis, and particularly not in ways that would reduce the availability of essential protein to poor families and their children,” we stated.
So here’s a formal question to the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE). Are you prepared to tell the South African public what your selling prices for MDM were, in June, July and August while import volumes from Brazil were reduced?
