Durban - Poultry production had to be made profitable again to save jobs, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said in an interview shortly after returning from SA-UK Brexit talks in London this week.
Davies was responding to the unfolding crisis in the poultry industry where hundreds of workers, including more than 1300 in KwaZulu-Natal, stand to lose their jobs as companies closed or cut back their operations as dumping affected their bottom line.
He said the dumping of “brown meat” (chicken legs and thighs) by Brazil and the EU had hit South Africa hard and an intervention was needed.
“Work with us,” was his appeal to local chicken-producing companies.
“By doing this the poultry industry can be made lucrative again.”
Davies said the solution was to increase competitiveness.
“We want to use whatever support measures are available to us to assist the situation. Jobs at risk is our big concern. We have been negotiating with some companies and encouraged them not to lay off workers.”
A task team, made up of representatives from different government departments and the industry, was addressing the crisis and was making progress, he said.
“We want to make poultry production profitable again, create jobs and get more black people to be owners and players in this
industry.”
In the UK Davies met international investors and held talks with the UK’s secretary of state for international trade, Liam Fox.
Chicken dumping was not on the agenda, he said, but Brexit and its impact on trade with South Africa was the focal point.
“We wanted to ensure there would be no interruption in trade. For the immediate future we have the European Partnership Agreement in place to prevent this.”
Davies said tariff rates on goods exported to the UK needed to be discussed before Brexit. For instance 30% of South Africa’s wine export went to the UK.
“We needed to start discussions beforehand.”
Davies said engaging with investors had positive spin-offs.
“They were upbeat about working together, especially to improve our middle management talent.”
What does dumped chicken taste like and how does it compare to SA chicken? The Sunday Tribune cooked up a feast and invited experienced foodies to a taste test.
And, while chicken was being tasted other pieces were tested for bacteria.
* All the results are on page 5 with videos on the Tribune’s Facebook page.