An association which represents Brazilian poultry exporters has warned of the consequences for South African consumers and the broader economy if an new application for an increase of import tariffs on frozen chicken portions is granted.
South Africa’s poultry sector has recently lost hundreds of jobs, and blames this on cheap chicken imports. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of poultry.
The South African Poultry Association’s (Sapa’s) application calls for an increase to the ad valorem tariff on bone-in and boneless frozen chicken portions to 82% from existing levels of 37% and 12% respectively.
The Brazilian Association of Animal Protein said that South Africa’s profit challenges and job losses are not due to imports of frozen chicken.
The General Secretary of the South African Food and Allied Workers Union appealed to the government to grant the new import tariff to slow down the imports threatening the survival of the local poultry sector.