Importer Fred Hume produced these gems in an interview with the Citizen newspaper.
Chicken imports or tariff rebates are not a problem for local producers, he insisted, because importers and local producers were rarely in direct competition.
“We’re predominantly importing cuts that the local market does not supply in abundance, such as wings and drumettes,” Hume assured the Citizen.
Official import statistics tell a different story. In 2023 South Africa imported 71 000 tonnes of bone-in chicken, of which 69% was leg quarters. Only 15% was drumsticks and 8% chicken wings, which Hume seems to think are the biggest import volumes.
Hume implies that local chicken producers concentrate on quick service restaurants such as KFC, “leaving the rest of the market dry”.
Again, official statistics show Hume is mistaken. Firstly, more than 80% of the chicken South Africans buy is locally produced. The rest of the market is not “dry” as Hume puts it – it is served by South African poultry farmers whose chicken products sell in retail shops and on the street across the country.
Secondly, just under 20% of locally produced chicken goes to the food service industry. Nearly half of local production goes into packs of individually quick frozen (IQF) chicken portions – the popular 2kg and 5 kg packs sold in local supermarkets. And it is here that the unfair competition is felt from imported frozen chicken portions.
Thirdly, importers and local producers are in direct competition. The local industry has secured anti-dumping duties against nine producer countries because official investigations found that dumped imports were coming in at unfair prices, harming local chicken farmers and threatening local jobs. This is the competition that Hume says doesn’t exist.
Hume stated that the rebates are meant to “help importers”. That is hopefully not the intention, but it will certainly be the effect. Importers will be the biggest beneficiaries of the rebates – they will score from increased import volumes, and stand to make increased profits because of lower import prices.
Consumers don’t benefit, because Imported chicken sells at or slightly below market prices, with fat profits to be made from buying low and selling high. It is notable that importers have not once, to FairPlay’s knowledge, promised to pass on the lower prices that the rebates will bring.
Hume didn’t do so in this interview, either. Instead, he complained about “the incredibly high and unnecessary duties importers continue to face”. It’s clear where importer priorities lie.
