Louw van Reenen, the spokesperson for the Red Meat and Livestock Primary Cluster and chief executive of the Beefmaster Group, is concerned about the impact on the supply chain in the meat and livestock industry if the movement of cattle is extended beyond the 21-day limit imposed by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza.
“The longer the ban continues, the more risk it carries to all who operate in the sector. We are hopeful that the disease is brought under control within the three-week period to avoid any negative fall-out,” said Van Reenen, adding that everyone was impacted by the restrictions, including meat processing facilities, who, together with the feedlots, were not allowed to buy cattle for stock purposes.
However he said the manner in which industry and government had co-operated on the issue in the past week served as a great example of what was possible in the future.
The cluster said the South African government’s announcement of the temporary suspension was necessary, albeit a case of too little too late.
Van Reenen said that industry had wanted the country to prioritise FMD with urgency since the outbreak.
“We have got to a stage where the 21-day restriction on the movement of cattle is necessary,” Van Reenen said.
The beef industry plays a significant role in the economy as beef is touted as a major future contributor to the red meat industry’s growth and is expected to add more than R12 billion to South Africa’s agricultural gross domestic product per annum by 2030.
However, the cluster said that FMD did not only threaten its viability, but also the country’s export markets.
“The beef industry has been focused on opening up new markets for our products over the last few years. We cannot afford to lose these export markets, as well as potential new ones, because of the risk of FMD.
“We strongly urge all stakeholders to co-operate in protecting our industry, not become complacent, and to act responsibly in ensuring FMD is brought under control,” Van Reenen said.
In March this year, the FMD outbreak resulted in China suspending imports from SA of all cloven-hoofed animal goods, including wool, beef and other red meat products. The suspension however on wool exports has since been lifted.
On Wednesday, Botswana announced the suspension of cloven-hoof animal movements following a suspected, yet unconfirmed, case of FMD in the disease control zone in its North East District.
“We congratulate the Government of Botswana for its swift action. This decisive intervention was needed, but lacking, four years ago when FMD was first identified in SA, which is why the problem is so pervasive. There is much to learn from this commendable and bold move by our neighbour,” Van Reenen said.
He said this helped in dispelling the rumour that the FMD problem in the country had its origins in the movement of cattle from neighbouring countries into SA.
The battle to forge ahead requires industry and government participation, yet the lack of industry consultations in the lead-up to the announcement left the industry navigating with much uncertainty.
Van Reenen said the body had always asked the government to acknowledge the industry as a critical role-player in the combating of this disease to effectively manage FMD.
“Having said that, we are encouraged by positive, unintended consequences since the restrictions have been in place.”
He included greater collaboration and the recognition of risks in the beef industry by all players.
“We are seeing a big drive from private and public role-players to solve these and other issues that have been holding the sector back. Traceability and biosecurity are back in the spotlight and stakeholders are starting to see value in preventing and managing the risk of large-scale disease outbreaks,” said Van Reenen.
The recently gazetted regulations allow for the movement of cattle to a registered abattoir for slaughtering purposes only if strict criteria are met, including having sign-off from a private veterinarian that cattle being transported are clinically healthy. Processing facilities also need to have a red cross permit from a state veterinarian before animals are allowed to be transported for slaughter.
“We are seeing excellent co-operation by government in fast-tracking the issuing of red cross permits. It is taking seriously our obligation to consumers to ensure the continuous supply of beef,” he said.
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