US and South African agricultural officials agreed at a crucial meeting in Pretoria this week to take steps to ensure US poultry imports to South Africa resume by the end of the year.

Though the two countries had agreed in June on an annual quota of 65 000 tons of US poultry imports into South Africa to end a long ban, the quota has not been implemented because of South African concerns about avian flu in the US.

The US warned that if the barriers to poultry and other US meat imports were not lifted soon, South Africa could lose its duty-free access to the lucrative US market for about $1.6-billion worth of exports a year.

The South African government hailed the agreement by US and SA veterinary experts on the meat import issues, at a meeting on Monday, as a breakthrough.

On poultry, the South African government said the experts had agreed on a poultry protocol and health certificate which would allow for the import of poultry from areas in the US that were not affected by avian flu, if avian flu broke out again.

This agreement seemed to address the US demand that South Africa should “regionalise” poultry imports. This meant that it should only ban poultry imports from specific areas of the US affected by avian flu.

Until now South Africa has insisted that it will not import any US poultry as long as there was avian flu anywhere in the US.

Tuesday’s statement by the Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Trade and Industry, said the poultry protocol agreed on would lay down procedures for ensuring that poultry from areas in the US affected by avian flu did not reach South Africa.

“On beef, South Africa had already removed the ban on the imports of US beef and had communicated this officially to the US,” the statement said.

“The vets from the two sides agreed on the technical issues required to expedite the issuing of the necessary animal health certificate to allow for the import of beef meat from the US.”

Before the meeting US officials had said that despite removing the ban on beef imports – which had been imposed because of concerns about mad cow disease – South Africa had then insisted on conducting its own inspections of US beef facilities. The US regarded this as shifting the goalposts.

“On pork, while the South African market for pork is open to the US, the US two sides shared information on the technical requirements for the importation of cuts that were of interest to the US,” the SA statement said.

The US government has been complaining that South Africa continually offers assurances that its market is open but then new obstacles always seem to arise when old ones are removed.

These have prevented any poultry, beef or pork from the US entering South Africa for many years. Whether the latest agreement will change this might only become clear when the first US meat actually crosses the South Africa border.

Tuesday’s statement also said South Africa had discussed with the US its interest in exporting its own animal products to the US, “The US provided South Africa with information on the technical requirements for access to the US market and agreed to expedite and facilitate the process towards obtaining the necessary health certificates for these products.”

“South Africa remains fully committed to the full implementation of the letter and spirit of the agreements reached in Paris between the US and SA in June on the issues related to AGOA,” the statement said. “The process is irreversible.”