SA engages EU to resume meat exports

SOUTH Africa was in talks with the EU about exporting meat to the 28-member economic bloc, Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana said yesterday. “South Africa is still negotiating market access,” he said. “These were lucrative markets prior to South Africa losing its foot-and-mouth disease-free status in 2011,” he said. The embargo on exports of both beef and game meat to certain countries in 2011 because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak cost the nation an estimated R4 billion, he said. The World Organisation for Animal Health declared South Africa free of the disease in February. “We sent them a dossier last year to say that we would like to resume trade,” Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries acting deputy director-general Mooketsa Ramasodi said. “What needs to happen now is they will have to look into sending a technical team to assess possibilities of resuming trade with us. They will determine if our meat is fit for them to import into their region.” The country was seeking new export markets for both beef and game, such as kudu and impala, and was targeting parts of Asia, Zokwana said. – Bloomberg