FairPlay concerned at continued chicken tariff delay. 28 February 2020. Statement by Francois Baird, Founder, FairPlay movement
The FairPlay movement is disappointed at the continued delay in announcing higher tariffs on imported Brazilian chicken, and concerned at the implications this has for the South African chicken industry and its workers.
The tariffs, which the local industry applied for in December 2018, have been delayed repeatedly. Eventually the poultry sector master plan, signed in early November last year, said they would be announced “soon”. Nothing happened.
Then, in his State of the Nation address on 13 February, President Cyril Ramaphosa, said that the master plan would “save 54 000 jobs while creating new jobs”.
President Ramaphosa promised that the government “will, within two weeks, set out a new poultry import tariff adjustment to support the local industry”.
The President must be as disappointed as we are that the promised two weeks have come and gone and yet no poultry tariff adjustment has been announced. It is certainly a cause of concern and alarm among small scale chicken farmers and poultry workers that the promised tariff adjustment to support livelihoods and jobs remains is not implemented to fight against the onslaught of predatory imports.
FairPlay hopes that Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel will be able to end these delays during debate on his department’s budget vote in the next week.
