The South Africa Poultry Association (Sapa) welcomed the opening up of imports to fertile eggs for hatcheries including products such as powder and liquid eggs.
The Minister of Agriculture announced that the government would allow imports of poultry products to ensure sufficient stock for the festive season.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development (DALRRD) said it is working with all stakeholders in the poultry industry and “doing everything possible to contain the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) which is plaguing not only South Africa but other parts of the world.
“Since the 1st of September, the department has granted 115 import permits for fertiliser eggs, 48 import permits for egg powder, 2 406 import permits for poultry meat and 24 permits for table eggs.
“A permit might be for a shipping container up to 10 000 tonnes,” a spokesman said.