Chicken is an essential source of meat protein for South Africa’s low-income households, and VAT-free chicken is needed as an additional measure to keep prices down.
This is the thrust of an article by FairPlay founder Francois Baird, published in Food for Mzansi.
“The South African poultry industry’s objective is to produce high-quality chicken at the lowest possible cost of production for all South Africans. It has done so for decades and the popularity of chicken shows that this business model is a success,” Baird wrote.
“Chicken feeds the nation – it makes up 66% of the meat consumed in the country, and affordability is a key factor. It accounts for most of the meat protein in the diets of low-income households.”
Money is tight, choices have to be made and consumers were switching to lower-priced food items, Baird said. This included canned pilchards which are exempt from value-added tax (VAT) while chicken is not.
“As the primary source of meat protein, chicken is vital for the country’s health. This is particularly so for low-income households and the shamefully high number of malnourished children in a relatively wealthy country. Just under 30% of all children under five are stunted, the result of chronic malnutrition and lack of access to protein, as this affects them for the rest of their lives.”
According to the United States department of agriculture, chicken contains multiple vitamins, including B3, B6, and B12, as well as essential minerals and micronutrients. These contribute to the health of children, students and workers – the learning and earning on which economic growth depends.
“Chicken should therefore be produced as cost-effectively as possible to ensure it remains as popular as possible. That is the aim of the SA poultry industry, which can bring the price down further if the government removes the 15% value-added tax (VAT) from the chicken products most consumed by low-income households.
“VAT-free chicken is a pro-poor proposal. It is also a pro-nutrition, pro-health and pro-jobs proposal,” Baird concluded.
