South Africa’s egg producers are still suffering the effects of last year’s devastating outbreaks of bird flu. Egg production has not yet returned to normal, resulting in occasional shortages.
The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) said the industry had to rebuild after bird flu outbreaks destroyed 30% of its stock. Millions of chickens were culled.
There have been no cases of avian flu reported this year, the publication capetownetc said, reporting on a discussion with Dr Abongile Balarane, head of SAPA’s egg organisation.
‘It will take us about 17 months to recover that lost production,” Balarane said. “We anticipate everything should be back to normal as early as next year, around May.”
The good news is that by Christmas, egg supplies should have improved significantly.
“Closer to December this year we’ll start to see from that 30% (loss), maybe 20% recovered or 15% recovered. Early January maybe another 5% will come to the system,” Balarane added.
To address the current shortages, the industry is importing liquid and powdered eggs, allowing fresh eggs to be directed to retailers and consumers. Balarane noted that these imported products are primarily used in bakeries and for industrial purposes.
Unlike other countries, the South African government does not compensate poultry farmers for the chickens they are ordered to cull during bird flu outbreaks. Despite massive losses suffered by chicken farmers, the government argument has been that sick birds have no value. This reasoning was rejected in a recent High Court judgment, which ordered the agriculture department to reassess a farmer’s claim based on the fair value of the chickens culled. The department has not yet decided whether to appeal against the judgment.
