Further growth and development of the African poultry industry is threatened by the state of the economy and the supply imports.

"The biggest threat for the development of the poultry sector in Africa is the general status of each country's economy. Most African countries would, in theory, be able to produce their own chicken feed (corn, soy) for reasonable prices," says Kevin Lovell, CEO of the Southern African Poultry Association (SAPA). "However, growing to the scale needed for industrial poultry production is the bottleneck. There is a definite lack of investment because the economy is not sustainable," he added.

"The main thing is minimising imports and stimulating local production. Roughly 15% of poultry meat consumed in South Africa is imported, which means ZAR2 billion (US$0.27 billion) in lost opportunities, especially for thousands of workers. In South Africa, every working person supports approximately five people with his income," says Lovell.

Poultry imports into South Africa are largely driven by the exchange rate. Imports peaked in 2006 with more than 280,000 tonnes, and have since decreased to just over 222,000 tonnes in 2008. Poultry is imported mainly from Brazil and Argentina. Where South Africa has anti-dumping measures in place, many Western African nations are flooded with leftover portions from the European market. Due to historically strong ties between Europe and the Francophone nations, as well as its relatively close proximity, West Africa has been the ideal channel for the EU to get rid of chicken wings, feet and necks, hampering the development of their local industry. "Although developing countries are allowed to impose higher import tariffs, the reality is that most African countries apply tariff structures that are lower than the European market because their institutional capacity is nowhere near as advanced as in the developed countries," according to Lovell. Mozambique, for example, gets a fair amount of re-directed chicken from Arab countries. Most African countries are not export-orientated. South Africa's export to neighbouring countries is just over 2,300 tonnes.

Lovell expects that as the African chicken meat market develops, it will be a frozen market with portions in 1.5 kilogramme bags. Most of the African people, especially in the rural areas, don't have a fridge or freezer at their disposal, so when people travel to the shops in the nearest village to buy frozen chicken, they can take it home where it will still last for a day in the warm climate. Fresh products will only last for a few hours. In South Africa, nearly 90% of all product sold is frozen. As with all the African countries, very little is wasted – everything including intestines, feet and heads are used.