The South African poultry industry wants to be part of the South African team negotiating a new trade deal with the United States.
Mindful of how their industry was sacrificed in 2015 to secure a renewal of South Africa’s benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), poultry industry representatives want to be at the table if new concessions to US poultry producers are under discussion.
So far, their pleas for inclusion in the trade talks have been ignored. There has also been no response to their argument to scrap the annual quota allowing the US to dump huge volumes of chicken in South Africa, because the quota is linked to other AGOA benefits which have been negated by new US tariffs on South African imports.
That silence has worried poultry producers. Their fear is that, if they can’t be at the table, then South African chicken is going to get the chop.
