South Africa eases poultry ban : Relief in sight for struggling households
The decision to partially lift this ban could not have come at a more critical time. South Africa has been losing over 100 million meals per week due to the ban, putting pressure on food affordability and security, especially as Stats SA reports that up to 30% of households in some provinces face regular hunger.
Merlog Foods has welcomed the Department of Agriculture's decision to partially lift the suspension on poultry product imports from Brazil.
The group, South Africa's largest importers of chicken and chilled meats and suppliers of local and foreign protein to major retailers and meat processors, said the move is a timely intervention aimed at alleviating pressing food security issues in South Africa.
Effective from June 19, this partial lifting will permit imports from all regions of Brazil, with the exception of Rio Grande do Sul, where an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, was reported in mid-May.
This critical shift in policy comes as South Africa grapples with significant food shortages, resulting in the loss of more than 100 million meals each week due to the import ban.
The looming threat of hunger is palpable; recent statistics from Stats SA reveal that up to 30% of households in certain provinces routinely face food insecurity, creating urgent demands for a reliable food supply.
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IOL News
21 hours ago
- IOL News
The ethical blind spots in SA's unemployment stats
South Africa's high unemployment also stands out globally. The writer says South Africa's metrics function as biopolitical instruments that perpetuate apartheid-era exclusion by rendering Black economic agency statistically non-existent. Image: File THIS opinion piece responds to former Statistician-General Pali Lehohla's article Debating the Labour Force Survey – A Response to Fourie's Critique. It serves as a rebuttal to his critique of my earlier article, Why Capitec's CEO Is Forcing SA to Rethink Its Unemployment Narrative, in which I argued that South Africa's unemployment figures fail to reflect the lived economic realities of the majority Black population. Lehohla claims that my article has 'amplified the debate' and insists on setting the record straight before it spirals into misinformation and speculation. However, my article did not reject StatsSA data outright. Instead, I argued that South Africa's high unemployment statistics are shaped by a biopolitical statistical system that invisibly erases informal economic activity and Black labour. This is largely due to restrictive measurement methodologies and the active suppression of the informal sector, unlike in other developing countries. I proposed the adoption of hybrid metrics and structural reforms to more accurately capture and support this vital, yet uncounted, segment of the economy. My stance aligns with UCT economist Haroon Bhorat, who engages constructively with Fourie's arguments rather than dismissing them entirely. Lehohla, however, dismisses Fourie's estimate of a 10% unemployment rate — based on informal economic activity — as 'abracadabra', 'lying', and the rant of a 'random businessman who profits from Black communities'. His anger masks a deeper crisis: South Africa's economic measurement system, though methodologically sound, is philosophically ill-equipped to account for the informal, digital, and survivalist nature of the majority-Black workforce. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Lehohla defends StatsSA's unemployment figures based on their adherence to International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). Yet, I argue that this technical rigour obscures vast swaths of economic activity. For instance, a township hairdresser or street vendor without formal records becomes statistically invisible. This creates a profound ethical issue: stark racial disparities in unemployment, with Black South Africans facing an expanded unemployment rate of 40%, compared to just 7% for white South Africans. South Africa's high unemployment also stands out globally. Countries like Mexico (55% informal, 4.5% unemployment) and Nigeria (85% informal, 3.34% unemployment) include self-reported informal work in their statistics. In contrast, South Africa's metrics function as biopolitical instruments that perpetuate apartheid-era exclusion by rendering Black economic agency statistically non-existent. Bhorat notes that UCT's Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU) consistently shows South Africa having one of the highest unemployment rates globally (33.6%), but also one of the lowest informality rates (about 16.3%). He highlights how most emerging economies address unemployment not by creating more formal jobs, but by allowing informal work to flourish. DPRU research further suggests that South Africa's unusually high unemployment is not primarily due to poor job growth or strict labour laws, but because our economy actively suppresses the informal sector. My advice to DPRU is not to shy away from confronting the moral failures or societal consequences that their data may obscure. Lehohla's refusal to engage meaningfully illustrates the difficulty of escaping the grip of orthodox economics and its limitations. Orthodox economics treats the economy — and by extension, social life — as a predictable machine operating in equilibrium. When official statistics diverge from lived experiences, the social contract built on citizens sharing data begins to erode, revealing a deep crisis within the discipline of economics. Unlike Adam Smith — who grounded market value in ethics and social relations in The Theory of Moral Sentiments — modern economics has severed this moral root, prioritising abstract mathematical models over real-world complexity. Joseph Stiglitz warns that GDP-centric metrics obscure true well-being. Persistent youth unemployment amidst trillions of rands in township transactions is not merely an error — it reflects a flawed measurement paradigm. Kenneth Boulding adds that modern economics builds on classical works like The Wealth of Nations and Das Kapital, which contain unrealised 'evolutionary potential' absent in contemporary models. He cautions that excluding economic history from graduate education produces 'idiots savant' — technically proficient economists who lack institutional understanding and historical insight. A balanced synthesis of modern analytical tools and classical wisdom can help bridge this divide, fostering critical engagement with economics as both a technical and humanistic discipline. Lehohla's defence rests on rigid positivism — the belief in the 'holy' authority of statistical processes — yet this glosses over the ethical roots of economic thought. For Smith, wealth was defined by the ability to command others' labour — a social relationship, not a cold data point. Modern economics, however, has decoupled itself from these normative foundations. As Stiglitz points out, most metrics conceal inequality and human suffering, reducing development to arithmetic rather than justice. This philosophical drift is evident in South Africa: while StatsSA reports rising unemployment, Capitec Bank documents over R2 trillion in township transactions — a vibrant economic reality invisible to official instruments. This disconnect signals a deeper crisis in economics. Equilibrium models and optimisation problems eclipse historical nuance, cultural dynamics, and power relations. Boulding warned of this technocratic drift, describing modern economists as technicians fluent in calculus but blind to social texture. In a direct response to me, Lehohla stated: 'There is no legacy to protect on my part, Bhungane (my totem), nor language to polish. When a lie is told, there is no reason to give it a different word. It is simply a 'lie,' and when an argument does not make sense, it is called nonsense in the English language, and when nonsense is given wheels and wings to fly, it is called 'rubbish.' Those who wish to opine should do so from research rather than from a hailer.' While I may not use his hyperbolic or confrontational language, I am neither uninformed nor inexperienced in public discourse. I have an academic and policy track record that makes me far more than 'a hailer.' As many have rightly pointed out, shouting or using aggressive language does not strengthen an argument. We must allow space for multiple viewpoints to ensure inclusive policymaking around poverty, inequality, land reform, and unemployment. Finally, Lehohla attributes South Africa's unique unemployment situation to two key factors: agricultural activity tied to land ownership and high levels of economic concentration. He argues that these factors challenge simplistic international comparisons and emphasise the centrality of the land question in shaping employment outcomes. No. Lehohla is deliberately conflating issues to obscure the fact that his revered unemployment metrics miss the ethical forest for the numerical trees. Siyayibanga le economy! * Siyabonga Hadebe is an independent commentator based in Geneva on socio-economic, political and global matters. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
Partial poultry import relief welcomed, but biosecurity fears linger
The easing of the poultry ban on Brazil comes as South Africa battles hunger, with over 100 million meals lost weekly during the full ban. While food manufacturers and consumers are relieved at the announcement of the partial lifting of a ban on poultry imports from Brazil, some are worried about the country's biosecurity. Merlog Foods manager Georg Southey said the decision by the department of agriculture to partially lift the suspension of poultry imports from Brazil was a welcome and necessary move. 'The partial lifting of the import ban will be applied to all other states of Brazil, aside from the Rio Grande do Sul region, where the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, was detected in mid-May. Millions of meals lost 'Lifting this ban could not have come at a more critical time,' he said. Southey said South Africa has been losing over 100 million meals per week due to the ban, putting pressure on food affordability and security, especially as Stats SA reports that up to 30% of households in some provinces face regular hunger. ALSO READ: Chicken import ban lifted to avoid crisis Brazil's dominance in poultry supply chain 'Brazil supplies 95% of our mechanically deboned meat (MDM), a key ingredient in everyday staples like polony, Viennas and sausages. These affordable proteins are essential to school feeding schemes and low-income families. No other country could fill the gap,' he said. Southey said while he commended the department for responding swiftly to industry concerns and for engaging constructively with Brazilian authorities to implement a regionalisation protocol, he added there were clear lessons to be learned from the time it took to lift the ban. 'Much-needed shift' Southern African Agricultural Initiative CEO Francois Rossouw welcomed the move. 'It reflects a much-needed shift towards a science-based and internationally aligned approach to managing animal health risks through regionalisation. 'This decision will help stabilise the supply of affordable proteins.' NOW READ: 'Lifting Brazil chicken ban only hurts local producers,' says Sapa
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
SA inflation holds at 2. 8% in May, but rise in food prices especially meat
There was a modest rise in food prices according to Stats SA inflation data released this week. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives Annual consumer price inflation in South Africa held steady at 2.8% in May 2025, unchanged from April, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) this week. While overall price pressures remain subdued, the re-emergence of food inflation is raising red flags according to an economist. Stats SA reported that the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.2% month-on-month in May. The main contributors to the annual inflation rate were housing and utilities (4.5%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.8%), and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.3%). Economist Casey Sprake of Anchor Capital said, 'While fuel disinflation continued to exert downward pressure, this was counterbalanced by a modest rise in food prices and a stable core inflation print.' Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, remained unchanged at 3.0% year-on-year, indicating that underlying price dynamics are still relatively contained. 'Durable goods categories, particularly furnishings and household equipment, remain deep in deflation, with price declines persisting for over 17 consecutive months,' said Sprake. Fuel prices continued to offer some relief, with a 1.1% month-on-month drop and a sharp 14.9% year-on-year decline, the largest since October 2024. Petrol is now 15.9% cheaper than a year ago, and diesel prices have dropped by 12.6%. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ But food prices surged, especially in the meat category. Stats SA noted that the food and non-alcoholic beverages category was the only major group contributing to the monthly CPI change, increasing by 1.1% month-on-month. Sprake warned, 'This uptick was driven primarily by a sharp increase in meat prices, particularly beef, where inflation rose from 3.0% in April to 4.4% in May.' The rise in food costs is largely attributed to supply-side shocks such as a widespread outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and high feed costs. Fruit and vegetable prices also saw double-digit increases, intensifying pressure on consumer food baskets. While the inflation print supports the case for the South African Reserve Bank to maintain a steady interest rate, Sprake noted that geopolitical risks and trade uncertainties could complicate the policy path. 'We expect the Monetary Policy Committee to hold rates steady in July,' she said. Stats SA will release the next CPI data on 23 July. THE MERCURY
