If Europe’s large-scale poultry producers resume their chicken exports to South Africa, the local industry may face a renewed threat of chicken dumping.
Massive volumes of dumped chicken imports from the European Union (EU) threw the South African poultry industry into crisis in 2017 and 2018. Then bird flu struck, and within a few years EU imports were close to zero.
Now a revival is possible. It hasn’t happened yet, and it may be a way away, but import volumes from the EU are edging upwards.
Early last year, all 10 of the EU countries licensed to export poultry to South Africa were subject to bird flu bans. Now those bans have been lifted from five countries, and four more have announced that their bird flu outbreaks are over. Only Germany is still having problems.
Volumes remain low. In 2016 the EU was South Africa’s biggest supplier, registering 63% of poultry imports. Now Brazil dominates on 83% and the EU supplies a mere 6%.
If nine, or even all 10, of Europe’s large-scale poultry producers resume their chicken exports, the South African poultry industry may be under renewed threat. Anti-dumping duties will be in force against seven of them, but that will lessen the misery, not eliminate it.
