IN HIS pursuit of naked self-interest, David Wolpert of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters hops on the bandwagon of the financially powerful US poultry industry and their champion, senator Chris Coons, to drive the case for the abolition of anti-dumping duties imposed against the US on bone-in chicken portions (“A case of SA biting the hand that feeds it”, Business Report, March 6).
What Wolpert fails to mention is that these anti-dumping duties have been in place for 15 years now, and the US, if it felt aggrieved by these, has had plenty of opportunity to appeal to the World Trade Organisation, or our courts, for relief. They have not done so. It is South Africa that “honour(s) the rules”, not the US. Might is not right.
The “developed” nations like the US prefer the white meat of the chicken (the breast primarily) and more recently, the wings. The rest of the chicken is considered waste, and is exported to countries that consume this, like South Africa, at prices way below the cost of production. In other words, it is dumped.
What the US argues is that it costs more to produce the breast than it does to produce the rest of the chicken, an illogical position. The South African poultry industry also recognises the importance of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and are currently participating in negotiations with the US to find a way forward. What we are not prepared to do, however, is sacrifice the 130 000 jobs supported by the local industry to satisfy US political interests nor the selfish profiteering of local importers.
As for the benefits for the South African economy from increased imports, besides lining the pockets of the importers, who have made billions of rands in the past from importing cheap chicken from Brazil, the EU and the US – all of which have been found guilty of dumping poultry into South Africa, the reality is that for every 10 000 tons of poultry meat imported, 1 000 local jobs are lost. That alone is the primary determinant of whether poultry imports are good for our nation.
Wolpert’s claims of job creation in the import sector are not supported by any verifiable facts. His misinformation will not free South Africans from the yoke of unemployment and poverty; only real jobs can change the lives of many South Africans. There is no such thing as cheap food if you do not have a job.
Kevin Lovell
Chief executive, The SA Poultry Association