Latest News

South Africa should use its political links to boost agricultural exports to other BRICS countries, according to agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo.

Poultry farmers remain uncertain about compensation for bird flu culls, as the government has yet to comment or confirm if it will comply with a court ruling.

Child stunting is a national crisis and should be a national shame.

South Africa’s slow progress in addressing food insecurity was one of the causes of high rates of child malnutrition and stunting, Child Gauge reported back in 2017.

One of the people who can make a real contribution to combating South Africa’s high level of malnutrition and child stunting is agriculture minister John Steenhuisen.

South Africa’s food security dropped last year to its lowest level in more than a decade, the Shoprite retail group has reported.

For South Africa to achieve the United Nations goal of “Zero Hunger”, the country must enhance agricultural productivity and ensure equitable access to nutritious food.

The British government is treating the routine lifting of a long-standing bird flu ban on its chicken imports into South Africa as if it were an historic new trade deal.

The benefits for South Africa’s poorest people are going to be a focus of the submission by South Africa’s poultry industry for the removal of the 15% value added tax (VAT) from chicken products.

It’s unfair that South Africa’s poorest consumers have to pay an extra 15% on every chicken portion that they buy.

VAT-free chicken is vital for South Africa and its children, FairPlay founder Francois Baird told a TV audience.

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.