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FairPlay has accused chicken importers of twisting the facts in their fight against tariffs and duties that reduce import volumes and importer profits.

The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) are prolific importers of chicken. Strangely, they seem less keen on the potentially lucrative business of chicken exports.

South Africa could be among the countries facing a surge in imports of Brazilian poultry, beef and pork if a European Union ban on Brazilian meat comes into effect in September.

South Africa’s poultry industry needs the government’s attention on important issues, says FairPlay founder Francois Baird. Here he provides new agriculture minister Willie Aucamp with a to-do list.

The SA Poultry Association (SAPA) has welcomed the approach adopted by new agriculture minister Willie Aucamp.

A decade after Ghana’s poultry industry was crippled by dumped chicken imports, it remains in trouble.

The bird flu threat is very different at the moment, on two continents in different hemispheres.

One dead seabird in a remote part of Australia got immediate government attention to the bird flu threat, including from the Prime Minister, and a plan of action for national and regional governments.

Two United Nations agencies have issued a joint appeal for funds ahead of the expected impact on millions of poor people of the El Niño weather phenomenon later this year and into 2027.

South African consumers are slowly warming to tinned chicken.

We have an armchair government playing catch 22. Case in point: South Africa has a bird flu policy, if only the government would follow it. Instead, bird flu policy is running on empty promises and complications. Its policies require chicken farmers to follow policy, but government makes it almost impossible to apply the policy and then chicken farmers, particularly small farmers, get punished because the policy is not being followed.

The revised poultry master plan, signed recently, is big on chicken exports. So far this year, the results have been small.

The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters rudely declined our invitation to participate in this month’s webinar on boosting chicken exports.

The South African government has a few days to register for oral hearings on new United States tariffs, and a few weeks to lodge written objections.

FairPlay founder Francois Baird says the South African government should investigate the level of state subsidies enjoyed by Chinese businesses competing with local producers.

Frustration and hope. These were the reactions of South African poultry producers to the problems being faced in expanding the country’s chicken exports.

Francois Baird calls on the government to get behind proposals to produce aviation fuel from sugar cane.

The climate predictions for the end of this year and into 2027 are getting worse. Scientists are warning of the possibility of extreme heat and low rainfall for southern Africa which would affect crops, national economies and regional food security.

South Africa’s food inflation is likely to remain low this year, but to rise into 2027, stoked by hotter weather and high fuel, fertiliser and electricity prices, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) predicts.

Thirty children die from malnutrition every day in South Africa. This horrifying statistic was published by the Daily Maverick in a report on the campaign by Union against Hunger during last month’s Food Justice Week.

In this new regular column for the FairPlay Bulletin, FairPlay’s founder Francois Baird sets out an urgent government action plan to protect farmers and consumers from rising energy costs.

Astral Foods, South Africa’s leading poultry producer, warns that chicken prices might increase because of the impact of the Iran war on inputs such as diesel.

The slow, steady increase in South Africa’s poultry imports continued into its seventh month in March this year.

The continuing rise in South Africa’s unemployment rate has led, once again, to dire warnings about the country’s future.

The drive to expand poultry exports is no longer just an industry goal, but a vital national imperative. By scaling international trade, the government can unlock a sustainable stream of foreign currency, promote large-scale job creation, and fortify national food security through a more resilient and globally integrated agricultural value chain.

The South African poultry industry is taking the government to court in an attempt to force it to suspend the annual duty-free quota which allows 72 000 tonnes of dumped chicken imports into South Africa from the United States.

When the United States decided to formalise its trade support for African countries, it called the enabling legislation the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). However, the Trump administration has made it so focused on benefits to the US that it is becoming the American Growth and Opportunity Act.

South Africa’s poultry master plan has been revised, and aims to continue the expansion of the local poultry industry that followed the adoption of the original plan in 2019.

Two government departments are giving conflicting statistics about South Africa’s chicken exports.

The master plan’s commitment to VAT-free chicken comes at a time when millions of poor South Africans are struggling to afford a healthy diet.

Astral, South Africa’s largest poultry producer, is anticipating a stunning start to its 2026 financial year.

America’s trade deal benefiting African countries – the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – is going to be “reformed” before it is renewed again, the United States congress has been told.

Last week, the FairPlay Bulletin highlighted the gloomy prospects for South Africa’s agricultural producers and consumers resulting from the combination of war (the Iran conflict) and weather (the possibility of lower rainfall and even drought because of a looming El Niño weather pattern).