August 13, 2004

 

 

Poultry Ban Could Mean Losing Export Market For South Africa
 

South African poultry and ostrich farmers could lose valuable export markets while an export ban is in place to combat bird flu.

 

"There are established markets between South Africa and the SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries, with us supplying chickens to Namibia, and eggs to Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambique," Nick Wentzel, chief executive of Astral Foods, said on Thursday.

 

Astral Foods owns Country Fair, National Chicks and Ross, among other brands.

 

Wentzel said with the export ban currently in place, neighbouring countries might look for alternative products.

 

A short ban of two or three weeks would not be very disruptive, but a ban of five or six months could result in the loss even of established markets.

 

"The reality is that we can lose these markets," said Wentzel.

 

These concerns come as the Department of Agriculture said on Thursday that it would conduct "extensive surveillance" throughout the country to determine whether the problem of bird flu or avian influenza was widespread or confined to the Eastern Cape.

 

"We will be taking blood tests as well as checking for any signs of the disease," said departmental spokesman Segoati Mahlangu.

 

He said provincial veterinary officials from the "Northern Province to the Western Cape" would conduct the surveillance.

 

Western Cape veterinary services will meet representatives of the poultry industry on Friday to arrange the surveillance, said veterinary services director Dr Gideon Bruckner.

 

Bruckner said the provincial department had a mass of data collected in a survey last year.

 

"The additional information will complement the existing data, and we will then submit all the data to the national department so that the international ban on poultry products can be lifted as soon as possible," said Bruckner.