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South Africa faces a deepening malnutrition crisis, with more than 60% of households suffering some form of food insecurity and more than 40% unable to afford nutritious items, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has found.

South Africa’s poultry producers will be pleased with the continued decline in imports of the bone-in chicken portions which caused a crisis in previous years.

Chicken importers are on a mission to get more and cheaper mechanically deboned meat (MDM) into South Africa, but the facts don’t always support their good story. And sometimes there’s a back story that isn’t told.

The South African poultry industry is pushing for a renewed focus on restructuring the country’s trade tariffs to curb illegal chicken imports.

There is an urgent need for the South African government and the poultry industry to find a solution to the impasse which is preventing vaccination against bird flu.

FairPlay founder Francois Baird is optimistic that chicken will at last be added to the essential foods that are exempt from South Africa’s 15% value added tax (VAT).

South Africa needs a bold, export-driven strategy to boost agricultural production, according to agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo.

A million tonnes of chicken is smuggled into Nigeria every year, according to the country’s animal feed producers. This nearly three times the domestic chicken production of 355 000 tonnes annually.

A global bird flu outbreak has claimed the lives of dozens of tigers in Vietnam and has now spread to humans in the US, raising concerns about the potential for wider transmission.

Removing the 15% value added tax (VAT) from chicken would make it more affordable for poor people in South Africa – directly and through the economies of scale created by an expanded poultry industry.

VAT-free chicken, bird flu vaccinations and chicken exports – these are South African poultry industry’s strategic priorities as the poultry master plan gets set for a remake.

The South African poultry industry had increased capacity by 10% since the poultry master plan was signed in 2019, says SAPA’s Izaak Breitenbach.

Removing VAT from chicken would be a low-cost social programme and job creator, according to FairPlay founder Francois Baird.

Expanding trade within Africa will involve the transport of increased volumes of refrigerated or frozen food, with food safety risks if the required cold temperature is not constantly maintained.

South Africa needed effective law enforcement to ensure speedy compensation for food poisoning victims and others claiming against large corporations.

South Africa’s new agriculture minister, John Steenhuisen, is pushing a renewed focus on structural reforms, biosecurity and improved trade relations with other countries.

Growth in global poultry consumption is poised to return to historic levels after several years of slow progress.

South African agriculture could soon recover from the mid-season drought which resulted in major summer grain crop losses this year.

Africa’s food insecurity crisis will be the focus of a conference in Cape Town that will bring together 800 delegates from governments and the private sector in order to promote investment in agriculture.

Nearly 50 of the world’s largest food manufacturing companies have invested in the production of plant-based or cell-cultured meats.

A very favourable report on South Africa’s business and economic prospects has been compiled by the international news agency Bloomberg.

South Africa’s chicken imports have been declining from a peak in 2018 and that trend has continued this year.

As chicken import volumes dropped in recent years, the origin of those imports has changed, and so has the composition of the chicken products being imported.

Lower feed prices should help South Africa’s chicken producers to limit price increases this year, according to a report in the Daily Maverick.

South Africa is missing out on the huge potential for agricultural exports to China, according to leading agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo.

Malnutrition is “the world’s worst child health crisis”, according to philanthropist Bill Gates.

In 2016 dumped chicken imports reduced Ghana’s poultry industry to 5% of its local market. The government has since spent millions to rebuild local poultry producers, but now imports are mounting once again. Development economist Dr Ralph Nordjo suggests some solutions.

As individual countries suffer outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu), the worldwide impact of the virus on birds, mammals and humans is often overlooked.

While bird flu is a rising global concern, two measures to prevent another devastating outbreak in South Africa are on hold, awaiting government decisions.

South Africa has expanded access to China for South African agricultural products, and there is more good news to come later this year, according to agriculture minister John Steenhuisen.

South Africa’s trade regulator, the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC), has defended itself against criticism that its tariff investigations take far too long.

South Africa’s agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has promised to address the shortage of veterinarians in the country and the challenging conditions under which they work.

South Africa’s worst food safety lapse – the 2017 listeriosis outbreak which killed more than 200 people and sickened more than 1 000 – may finally be approaching closure.