As expected, the South African government has banned all poultry imports from Brazil because of the outbreak of bird flu in that country.
The ban affects all of Brazil’s poultry producers because Brazil has not applied for a compartmentalisation agreement with South Africa. This would have confined the ban to a smaller area and allowed imports from other parts of the country that exports the most chicken in the world.
The ban was announced in a letter to Brazilian agricultural authorities from Dr Mpho Maja, director of animal health at the Department of Agriculture.
It affects Brazilian poultry consignments packed on or after 1 May 2025, and applies to live poultry, eggs and fresh and frozen poultry meat.
Poultry products that have been heat-processed in Brazil, and for which the importer has obtained an import permit, are exempted from the ban.
Consignments packed on or after 1 May would be rejected in South Africa and returned to Brazil, or destroyed at the cost of the importer, Dr Maja said. Her announcement was dated 19 May, so it could affect some consignments already in transit.
“Please note that a reefer container will be regarded as a consignment and will be handled as an entity. We will not allow cartons (e.g. in the case of poultry meat) to be sorted according to date of production,” she advised.
Nearly 60% of South Africa’s poultry imports from Brazil are mechanically deboned meat (MDM), a paste used in the production of processed meats such as polony and sausages. While importers have called for a compartmentalisation agreement to ensure a continued supply of MDM, there have been no announcements to indicate that the two governments are exploring this issue.
