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South African consumers will come under added pressure in the months ahead as increases in the price of chicken – the country’s most popular and most affordable meat protein – lead to agonising choices in retail stories.

As Rainbow moves towards independence, it plans to significantly boost chicken production and economic growth in the Hammarsdale community.

As South Africa’s poultry industry grapples with a resurgence of avian influenza and a lack of government compensation, it raises concerns of supply chain shortages.

Highlighting the ongoing struggles within South Africa’s poultry industry, the SA Poultry Association has raised concerns about the economic environment and the urgent need to remove VAT on chicken portions.

The World Bank warns of a global food crisis and projects continued hunger for up to 670 million people by 2030.

The New York Times cautions, as avian influenza extends its reach to mammals, that there is growing concern about the possibility of human transmission, highlighting the need for global pandemic preparedness.

The return to full production at the Rainbow plant in Hammarsdale, outside Durban, is a historic event. The plant was partly shuttered in 2017, due to rising levels of dumped chicken imports.

The Rainbow re-opening ceremony was attended by the two government ministers who signed the 2019 poultry master plan – trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel and agriculture minister Thoko Didiza.

DTIC Minister Ebrahim Patel emphasised the need to expand market share and exports while tackling issues such as dumping, high input costs, infrastructural constraints and environmental challenges.

Rainbow celebrated the re-opening of the Hammarsdale production plant as “a strategic leap forward” for the company.

Hammarsdale has special significance for FairPlay. The Hammarsdale closure, and the plight of the workers and communities affected, resulted in the launch of FairPlay as a movement opposed to dumping and unfair and illegal trade

China believes African countries will be able to feed themselves, and has promised Chinese investment to help the continent to achieve that objective.

Izaak Breitenbach of the SA Poultry Association discusses the impact of new anti-dumping duties on dumped chicken imports, focusing on potential industry relief and growth without significant effects on retail prices.

Journalists and publications have been led to believe that anti-dumping duties were all about retail prices. They have been put right by FairPlay founder Francois Baird.

South Africa’s chicken imports will hit a low point in 2023 and then rise over the next decade.

South Africa’s chicken imports for the first half of 2023 remain high, although monthly totals are dropping.

While South Africa continues to record one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, there is good news from the agricultural sector, where jobs are being created.

After a run of favourable publicity, alternatives to farmed meat, such as laboratory-grown food or plant-based meat alternatives, are meeting some resistance.

Anti-dumping duties are in place against five countries, and the sky has fallen. Except that it hasn’t, but chicken importers don’t tell you that. They like to pretend that disaster has happened and it’s only going to get worse.

The facts about anti-dumping duties were explained by FairPlay founder Francois Baird in a radio interview with Moneyweb.

The South African poultry industry is gearing up for a new export market, selling fresh and frozen chicken to Saudi Arabia.

Food security is one of the priority areas for agricultural co-operation between the five BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The international implications of the coup in Niger, particularly for the United States and France, were spelled out in a US publication by FairPlay founder Francois Baird.

As the implementation of carbon border taxes by the European Union approaches, South Africa grapples with the complexities of the issue.

The Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) has released a statement in support of the decision to impose anti-dumping duties on dumped chicken imports from Brazil, Denmark, Poland, Ireland and Spain.

Having at last given the South African poultry industry the anti-dumping duties it should have had a year ago, Minister Patel should now fix the poultry master plan – chicken farmers face huge hurdles and industry growth initiatives are incomplete.

The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) is delighted that the anti-dumping duties for which it applied are now in place, calling the duties a positive step towards ending unfair trade and promoting industry growth, while emphasising that the impact on retail chicken prices will be minimal.

The new anti-dumping duties came with a warning from Trade, Industry and Competition minister Ebrahim Patel that the duties would be suspended if the poultry industry used them to make unfair profits.

FairPlay has taken issue with the financial newspaper Business Day over a report predicting that the anti-dumping duties would result in a huge increase in the retail price of chicken.

The implementation of anti-dumping duties provoked an unfortunate reaction from South Africa’s official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance.

Amidst sensational claims, a former meat industry CEO’s rational assessment sheds light on the realities of anti-dumping duties and their potential impact on chicken prices.

South Africa imposes anti-dumping duties on dumped chicken imports from Brazil and four EU countries.

These are the reasons why it would be a mistake for the US to kick South Africa out of Agoa.