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South Africa
Joined October 2016
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Yes, poultry profits are up this year. Low grain prices did that. In its 2023 financial year, Astral's poultry division lost R1.38 billion. Good years have to pay for the bad ones.
fairplaymovement.org/low-fee…
FairPlay retweeted
Okay so here's the thing nobody is talking about.
AGOA gets terminated. 2 November. $1.7 billion in exports on the line. Gone as of 1 January 2027.
But four days later 6 November government gazettes the chicken quota. Raises it. From 73,881 tonnes to 74,351. Backdated to April.
The notice still says the quota is "linked to AGOA benefits."
AGOA benefits are dead. The chicken keeps coming.
Let me explain why this matters.
Back in 2015, the deal was: SA lets 65,000 tonnes of American bone-in chicken in duty-free, keeps AGOA access.
Americans want white meat. Breast. The dark stuff legs, quarters gets dumped here at prices below production cost because nobody at home wants it.
SAPA calls it dumping. They're not wrong.
The deal was supposed to work both ways. Lose AGOA, lose the chicken quota.
But here we are. November 6, 2026. Four days after AGOA termination. Government raised the quota anyway.
And this is not a small leak.
74,351 tonnes of chicken. That's roughly 14.8 million individual chickens hitting the market at below-cost prices. Every year.
The local poultry industry employs over 110,000 people — direct jobs. Most of them rural. Most of them without alternatives.
SAPA says the rebate terminates automatically when AGOA goes.
Government hasn't said yes.
FairPlay says the imports are killing local producers, rural jobs, and the Poultry Master Plan.
Government hasn't said no.
DTIC hasn't ruled. The quota stays. The trucks keep rolling.
And honestly, that's what bothers me.
When AGOA was worth $4 billion, the chicken was annoying but manageable. You paid it and moved on.
Now AGOA is $1.7 billion and falling. The chicken is not a concession anymore. It's a liability.
The government backdated the increase to April. They knew the AGOA clock was ticking and raised it anyway.
So the question is simple, right?
If the deal was tied to AGOA, and AGOA is dead… why is the quota alive?
Because if the answer is "because we haven't decided yet" that's not a trade strategy.
That's getting played.
And the people paying for it are not in Pretoria. They're in rural towns where the poultry plant is the only employer for 80 kilometres.
No AGOA, no US chicken: Poultry lobby sees opening to kill 74 000-tonne import deal
brnw.ch/21x6XF4
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No AGOA, no US chicken: Poultry lobby sees opening to kill 74 000-tonne import deal
brnw.ch/21x6XF4
FairPlay retweeted
OF COURSE, SINCE SOUTH AFRICA HAS GRADUATED FROM AGOA, IT NO LONGER NEEDS TO MAINTAIN A TARIFF-FREE QUOTA FOR U.S. POULTRY IMPORTS.
The South African poultry industry doesn’t need to take legal action on this issue, as they suggested to @News24; they primarily need to talk with our DTIC colleagues about the path forward.
For folks wondering why we import U.S. poultry, it is not in isolation. As a country, South Africa generally imports about 20% of its annual poultry needs (roughly 350,000 tonnes of various pieces a year).
We import this volume of poultry products from several countries, mainly Brazil, which accounts for roughly 70% of our poultry imports. Other suppliers are the U.S., Argentina, and the E.U., amongst others.
We will continue importing various poultry products to satisfy our domestic needs. The U.S. will remain one of the suppliers, but the tariff-free quota will have to be revised out.
So, regarding industry stakeholders ' views on the tariff-free access quota from the U.S., I align with the South African poultry industry's view that if we graduate out of AGO, we have no obligation to maintain the tariff-free quota.
This, of course, is if there is no reestablishment of a more productive path forward that includes tariff reduction for both countries.
--Wandile
No AGOA, no US chicken: Poultry lobby sees opening to kill 74 000-tonne import deal
brnw.ch/21x6XF4
FairPlay retweeted
Of course, since South Africa has graduated from AGOA, it doesn’t need to maintain a tariff-free quota for U.S. poultry imports.
Farmers who cull their flocks on government orders are stopping bird flu from reaching everyone else's farms. Now the courts say they must be paid for it. Fair compensation gets outbreaks reported faster.
fairplaymovement.org/court-r…
"If one input fails for a few hours, birds die. If it fails for a few days, a business fails." Engineer Kibiti Ntshumaelo on what failing municipal water, roads and power mean for poultry jobs.
fairplaymovement.org/failing…
Rural poultry jobs are not a bargaining chip. Any new US trade deal must not make America's licence to dump chicken here permanent. @the_dtic
fairplaymovement.org/agoa-is…
The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that farmers must be paid for chickens the government orders them to cull in bird flu outbreaks, valued as healthy birds. Until now the state paid nothing.
fairplaymovement.org/court-r…
AGOA gave the US a licence to dump chicken in South Africa for ten years, free of anti-dumping duties.
AGOA is gone. That licence should go with it.
fairplaymovement.org/agoa-is…
South Africa is out of AGOA from 1 January. Manufacturers and farmers will lose sales, and workers will lose jobs.
Our statement: fairplaymovement.org/agoa-is…
For the eighth year in a row, the mini-budget left 15% VAT on the chicken portions that poor households rely on for protein.
Minister Godongwana, drop VAT on chicken and prices will drop immediately.
fairplaymovement.org/governm…
Only one South African poultry producer is vaccinating against bird flu, on a single site, after two years of stalled rules.
With H5N1 spreading in Europe, the Department of Agriculture must deliver workable protocols urgently.
fairplaymovement.org/hopes-r…
Unreliable power, water shortages and failing roads are pushing up the cost of producing South Africa's chicken.
Join NAMC, CESA, SAPA and FairPlay on Thu 29 Oct, 12pm to 2pm, for Broken Municipalities, Broken Food Systems.
Register free: fairplaymovement.org/event/b…
#FoodSecurity
How can local government unlock poultry growth, food security and jobs?
Join Malapane Thamaga (NAMC), Christopher Campbell (CESA), Izaak Breitenbach (SAPA) and Francois Baird (FairPlay) on Thu 29 Oct, 12pm to 2pm on Zoom.
Register free: fairplaymovement.org/event/b…
#FoodSecurity
Saudi Arabia has signed 27 poultry investment deals worth US$687 million, and its chicken self-sufficiency has climbed from 39% in 2019 to 68% today.
The dtic must secure Saudi market access for South African exporters now.
fairplaymovement.org/saudi-a…
Fact check: if ITAC keeps anti-dumping duties on chicken from three European countries, nothing changes for consumers.
"There will be no change in the tariffs and there will be no impact on prices." SAPA's Izaak Breitenbach
#StopDumping
fairplaymovement.org/confusi…
When municipalities fail, poultry farmers pay more for power, water and transport, and those costs eventually reach workers and families too.
Join us for: Broken Municipalities, Broken Food Systems - a free FairPlay webinar on Thu 29 Oct, 12pm to 2pm.
Register: fairplaymovement.org/event/b…
#FoodSecurity
Nearly 170 million chickens have been culled in the US since 2022. Now American producers are turning to bird flu vaccination, backed by active surveillance.
South Africa needs workable vaccination rules before the next outbreak.
fairplaymovement.org/mass-cu…
Nearly 170 million chickens have been culled in the US since 2022. Now American producers are turning to bird flu vaccination, backed by active surveillance.
South Africa needs workable vaccination rules before the next outbreak.
#FoodSecurity
fairplaymovement.org/mass-cu…