The South African poultry industry is well equipped to take on other foreign producers in growing export markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, argues the writer.
By Chris Coombes
South Africa has a real opportunity to turn chicken exports from a relatively small business into a much larger scale operation that would create hundreds of jobs and earn the country billions in foreign exchange.
The country exported only 42 000 tons of chicken last year, just over 2% of South Africa’s chicken production, and it brought in R1.4 billion. With government help, that could double or treble in the next few years.
The South African poultry industry is well equipped to take on other foreign producers in growing export markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. We are the second most-competitive poultry producing country after Brazil, according to a recent report by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP).
