South African poultry producers are confident that the country will avoid chicken shortages following a government ban on imports from Brazil due to a recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), also known as bird flu.
The outbreak, confirmed by Brazil’s ministry of agriculture and livestock a week ago in the Rio Grande do Sul state, has led South Africa to suspend the import of live poultry, eggs, and fresh (including frozen) poultry meat from Brazil.
South Africa’s department of agriculture confirmed that no new import permits would be issued.
“We will, however, continue to import consignments containing products packed in their final packaging on or before 30 April 2025, and heat-processed poultry products where the risk of transmitting the virus has been mitigated,” the department said in a statement.
Local producers ready to step up
Meanwhile, Izaak Breitenbach, chief executive officer of the South African Poultry Association (Sapa), said South African poultry producers can make up for the loss of Brazilian chicken meat imports due to the bird flu outbreak in that country.
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Breitenbach assured consumers that the local poultry industry is currently producing around 21.5 million chickens each week, with the ability to scale up production by an additional one million birds weekly if needed.
According to Breitenbach, Brazil currently supplies around 70% of South Africa’s poultry imports, roughly 18% of total consumption. While fresh and frozen chicken imports will be affected, he pointed out that the biggest concern lies with mechanically deboned meat.
“If there is a problem following a ban on Brazilian imports, it will concern mechanically deboned meat (MDM), not fresh or frozen chicken meat. MDM is a paste used in the production of processed meats such as polony and sausages; it is not made in any large quantities in South Africa,” he explained.
He added that mechanically deboned meat makes up roughly 60% of South Africa’s poultry imports from Brazil, including items like chicken heads, feet, gizzards, and livers, which is the second most imported category. In contrast, bone-in chicken cuts such as leg quarters, thighs, drumsticks, and wings represent only about 4.5% of these imports.
Strict measures to protect the industry
“The department has said it will not allow the importation of potentially infected chicken products. Sapa agrees with the position not to allow the importation of poultry products that will place our local industry at risk from any infectious disease, such as bird flu,” Breitenbach said.
Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo highlighted the seriousness of the outbreak and its global impact. He said the country needs to work very hard to ensure that all health-related concerns with products going onto the shelves are addressed.
“In South Africa, we still remember egg shortages in 2023 when avian influenza hit various regions. Against this background, we always observe the animal health conditions of our trading partners closely.
“ As a country, we maintain a principle of openness in agricultural trade, with limited to no restrictions if commodities meet our specifications and follow the appropriate import regulatory standards,” Sihlobo said.
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