September 25, 2023

Tight supplies of chicken, egg in South Africa expected as farmers face worst bird flu outbreak

South African poultry farmers have warned of possible chicken and egg shortages as they battle what the industry said is the worst bird flu outbreak ever to hit the country.

Producer Quantum Foods said on September 22 that this year it had lost almost two million chickens due to the disease.

"The bird flu outbreak is the worst that South Africa has witnessed," fellow producer Astral said in a trading update on September 21. "(It) has already caused short supplies of table eggs into the market, and it is expected that the supply of poultry meat into the value chain could be affected negatively in the coming months."

The outbreak has cost it R220 million (US$11.7 million) so far, the company said.

One of Africa's major poultry producers, South Africa reported the first bird flu cases in commercial farms in April, according to an industry group.

Earlier this month, the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) said the country was contending with two different strains of the virus, H5N1 and a new strain identified as H7N6.

The latter was spreading through the northeastern provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng "at an alarming rate", according to Astral.

SAPA said the number of avian flu cases in South Africa this year was higher than in any year since the first outbreaks were reported in commercial farms in 2017.

- AFP