EU chicken imports are not a problem right now, because South Africa’s bird flu measures ban imports from every EU country except Spain. The onslaught will not resume until those bans are lifted.
In the meantime, Brazil has once again filled the gap. The latest import statistics show how Brazil completely dominates South African poultry imports.
It did this previously from 2017 after an earlier wave of bird flu stopped most European Union exports. Brazil then toppled the EU as South Africa’s main supplier, and has steadily increased its lead.
Official statistics for April 2021 show that 72.9% of South Africa’s poultry imports came from Brazil, up from 61.9% in March. The United States is a long way back at 10.5%, while the former leader, the EU, languishes at 9.4%.
Brazil and the United States have also replaced the EU as a supplier of the bone-in portions, such as leg quarters, that do most harm to the local poultry industry. Bone-in portions have risen to 26.1% of Brazilian imports, up from 22.6% in March and 14.9% in February.
Brazil is one of the countries accused by the local industry of dumping bone-in portions in South Africa. Together with four EU countries, including Spain, Brazil is cited in the industry’s new application for anti-dumping duties.