SA’s chicken crisis: Local industry begs for Brazil deal

Cape Town – South Africa’s local food industry is reportedly urging the government to extend the same state-level bird flu trade arrangement it has with the United States to Brazil.

While the US can still export chicken from unaffected states, Brazil currently faces a full import ban despite its bird flu outbreak being confined to one state.

IOL reported on Tuesday that despite 70 cases of bird flu in the US, South Africa has approved a special year-long deal to continue importing American chicken.

This comes amid widespread poultry bans due to bird flu outbreaks, including South Africa’s ban on Brazilian chicken after Brazil reported its first-ever case on May 15, 2025. 

Merlog Foods reports R100 million in weekly protein losses and supports the agriculture department’s request for technical data from Brazil to lift the ban quickly and safely, the report said. 

The local food industry wants South Africa to extend the same trade agreement it has with the United States to Brazil in response to bird flu. SA and the US have reached a trade agreement for chicken imports. pic.twitter.com/5VujZGMTcq

— AfricanTimes2005 (@African_TimesSA) June 17, 2025

Last week, the Department of Agriculture said it is considering regionalising chicken imports from Brazil to meet local demand while maintaining biosecurity.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said that, although South Africa has enough local chickens, the ban affects the affordability of processed meats and pet food.

According to SA News, the minister said that the departnemtn is engaging with Brazilian authorities to confirm whether the outbreak is contained and why responses to South Africa’s queries have been delayed, citing Brazil’s high volume of global trade enquiries.

“This is a necessary procedure of ensuring that we don’t introduce the virus to South Africans and infect the poultry industry. We need to balance food security realities with biosecurity imperatives,” Steenhuisen .