South Africa urged to halt poultry imports from Brazil due to bird flu outbreak

AS THE avian influenza outbreak continues to spread in Brazil, calls are increasing for the South African government to temporarily suspend poultry imports from the country.

Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of chicken, reported its first avian influenza outbreak last week at a commercial farm in the southern region. According to reports, the affected farm supplies Vibra Foods, a major Brazilian poultry producer with backing from Tyson Foods, the US-based meat giant.

In response to the outbreak, several countries, including China, the European Union, and most recently Japan, have imposed trade bans to prevent the spread of the disease across borders.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), emphasised the need for swift action, calling on the government to temporarily ban chicken imports from the South American country.

Currently, South Africa imports about 20% of its poultry products from countries such as the US, Argentina, and the EU, with approximately 70% of these imports from Brazil.

"Given that we have struggled to address avian influenza in our domestic industry for some time, the appropriate step right now is to temporarily suspend imports of poultry products from Brazil until they are cleared," Sihlobo said.

"When animal disease risks exist in countries we import from, we must act swiftly, following global practice, and limit the imports of the affected products," he said.

Sihlobo further said that while he believes swift action is necessary, the final decision rests with the government.

"Still, the regulator and policymakers must decide on this issue independently. I am merely making these remarks, judging from what we observe in China and Europe and our experiences with animal diseases".