As poultry producers in Southern Africa, including Namibia, await the final determination on anti-dumping duties against Brazil and four European Union countries, Namibia has once again highlighted the damage being done by dumped poultry imports.
The Namibian poultry industry is a new one – not yet 10 years old – and it has grown through the establishment and inclusion of small-scale poultry farmers. It is the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have been hardest hit by consignments of dumped imports.
In 2019, the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) expressed its full support for Namibian action against dumping, particularly from Brazil which “targets this region with bulk exports of unwanted brown meat” – the leg quarters which are a by-product of its premium-priced breast meat.
Clearly dumping has continued, now including eggs, threatening to cripple the local industry as the Namibian Agricultural Union economist Bertha Iyambo told the Namibian newspaper. She called on the Namibian government to investigate and “safeguard the local poultry sector from collapse”.
This is yet another example of large producers targeting smaller markets to the detriment of small-scale farmers and local jobs.
When South Africa’s trade regulator, the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) makes a final determination on anti-dumping duties against the five foreign producer countries, any ruling will cover all SA Customs Union nations, including Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini.
The determination will affect bone-in chicken portions such as leg quarters, but not eggs.
