Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies
Photo by: Duane Daws
Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies has said in a written response to a Parliamentary question that he has made a decision regarding tariff protection for the poultry industry.
He noted, however, that several “internal legal processes” had to be finalised before the decision could be made public.
Davies’ response followed a recommendation to the Minister by the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa, which made a final determination at its July 9 meeting on an application for increased import duties on chicken meat by the South African Poultry Association (Sapa).
Engineering News Online reported in June that Sapa had sought an increase in import duties of up to 82% on a range of categories of frozen chicken meat, including carcasses, whole birds, boneless cuts, offal and other portions.
The association warned that, without intervention, up to 20 000 jobs could be lost in the domestic poultry industry, as producers would have to resort to retrenchments to mitigate the impact of operational challenges caused by a flood of low-quality chicken imports from Brazil and the European Union.
However, the tariff increase application was opposed by the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters, food importer Merlog Foods and the Boxer supermarket chain, which said a tariff hike would drive up local poultry prices and encourage anticompetitive behaviour among local producers.