Beefmaster Group has announced that South African beef is now available in shops in Saudi Arabia, Bizcommunity reported. This marks the successful conclusion of a 15-month contract negotiation period, following a landmark agreement between South Africa and Saudi Arabia in October 2022.
“We are pleased to possibly be the first South African beef company to be officially trading with the nation in over 21 years,” said Gert Blignaut, CEO of Beefmaster Group. “Currently 4% of South Africa’s beef is being exported and increasing this to even between 7% and 8% would be very beneficial for the agricultural industry. It is envisaged that the Saudi market can accomplish this for us.”
The South African beef industry has made inroads in expanding to new export markets recently. Beefmaster Group exports products to Egypt and Jordan as well as the Middle East, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Leading suppliers to Saudi Arabia include Brazil, Australia, Pakistan, the US, New Zealand and Canada. The Saudi beef industry is said to be worth about R38bn.
Beef soars, chicken lags
While beef exporters are celebrating their achievements, poultry producers are not having the same degree of success expanding into Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East. Progress has been slow, poultry export volumes have been small and there has recently been a hiatus in exporting to Saudi Arabia because of bird flu outbreaks in South Africa.
The 2019 poultry master plan sets out the actions required, mainly by government, in order to treble South Africa’s poultry exports, with a focus on the Middle East. By 2022, exports were still at 50 000 tonnes, making up just under 3% of South Africa’s chicken production. After bird flu struck in 2023, volumes dropped to 46 700 tonnes last year.
