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Chicken prices set to soar

Cape Town - The International Trade Commission’s (Itac's) latest move to whack poultry importers with an 82% price increase on imported chicken is going to get right into the cooking pots of the poor, an expert said on Friday.

“Chicken’s Big Five (Rainbow, Astral, Afgri, Sovereign and Country Bird) and other members of the South African Poultry Association (Sapa), have persuaded Itac to hammer importers, by raising duties,” said David Wolpert, CEO of The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (Amie).

“This on the plea that they are distressed, yet they are listed companies, many of them paying multimillion rands in executive packages,” he said.

However, Sapa's chief executive Kevin Lovell said that price hikes are needed for local chicken suppliers to survive.

"Local producers are eating cash at present. They need to increase prices or close up shop," Lovell told the Mail&Guardian.

The poor will be forced to pay up to 50% more for chicken because of Itac's move, Amie said, who provides a substantial portion of the protein consumed by South Africans in the lower income brackets.

The department of agriculture wants Sapa to stop or reduce pumping brine into chickens, which often amounts to as much as 40%.

"Effectively Sapa members are selling expensive water. Imports of the meat favoured by the poor do not contain water.

"A kilogram of imported chicken meat and bones into the stewing pot does not end up as nearly half water,” Wolpert said.

Amie intends to challenge Itac

Wolpert said Amie was only able to get a copy of the duty document a week after it was gazetted on April 12.

"We have applied for a reasonable extension but to date Itac has yet to respond,” he said.

Amie’s legal adviser, Amish Kika, is concerned that Itac has not done its homework.

He said that Itac used the 'Big Five’s' own submission that it is a struggling industry, but they have not given Amie the opportunity to adequately scrutinise Sapa’s documents.

"The least we can expect is a reasonable extension, so we can prepare our case," Kika said.

Donald MacKay‚ a director at XA International Trade Advisors, who has been closely involved in the chicken tariff applications, said he is not convinced that the duty increases would solve all the problems in the industry.

While the local industry is under strain, it is questionable that all its woes are pinned on imports, he said.

 - Fin24

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