Question NW16 to the Minister of Trade and Industry
17 February 2016 - NW16
Esterhuizen, Mr JA to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry
Whether he can furnish information on the measures that his department will put in place to ensure the continued survival and growth of the country’s domestic poultry market, specifically regarding trade policies that may be considered in order to assist local poultry producers to be able to compete better both locally and abroad; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
the dti continues to support the sustainability of the local poultry producers through a number of measures including the import tariff for bone-in chicken which was approved and implemented in September 2014. The anti-dumping duties on frozen bone-in portions against US companies also remain in place. The 65 000 ton exemption from the anti-dumping duty would constitute, in volume terms/tonnage, 13.6% of South Africa’s imports of poultry meat in 2015.
In addition an application for the designation of locally produced poultry meat for government procurement is in the approval process with implementation expected in less than 6 months’ time.
the dti continues to provide incentives for investment into poultry production and animal feed industry in order to help mitigate costs towards competitiveness of the industry. As an example, Astral’s Meadow Feeds investment of R193 251 000 was facilitated through an incentive to the value of R14 433 754 over a period of two years.
A further area of support is the work underway with the SA Poultry Association and DAFF towards opening up new market opportunities. An example is the upcoming mission to the United Arab Emirates.
South Africa and the United States agreed to a developmental component to assist poultry producers in South Africa, particularly historically disadvantaged individuals. This development component will be facilitated by the dti and DAFF together with relevant US stakeholders.