SA meat processors body urges swift action to lift Brazil poultry ban as job losses mount
The South African Meat Processors Association (Sampa) has welcomed signs of progress in efforts to lift the ban on poultry and poultry-product imports from Brazil but has warned urgent action is needed to prevent further job losses and a shortage of affordable protein products.
The government has banned poultry products from the South American country, which recently announced a bird flu outbreak in one of its regions.
The agriculture department confirmed this week steps are being taken to resolve the import suspension, which was imposed in response to an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, in Brazil.
Sampa acknowledged the government's response and engagement but stressed that zoning — or regionalisation — must be implemented without delay to allow imports from unaffected areas of Brazil to resume.
'We urge the government to implement zoning (regionalisation) with all haste as the ban has placed more than 125,000 jobs at risk in the manufacturing sector, on top of the grave threat it poses to South Africa's food security.'
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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 ✕ South Africa does not produce MDM in any meaningful quantity. For the past 12 years, Brazil has supplied about 95% of MDM used in South African meat processing, making it an essential component in affordable processed products like russians, frozen burgers, bangers, meat pies, and corned meat. 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