Meat industry warns of delays at ports affecting imports
The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters says delays at South African ports are causing massive delays in meat imports.
"The process that used to take 48 hours is now taking eight to nine days. This is due to revised requirements by the border management agency introduced at the beginning of the year," says the association's CEO, Imameleng Mothebe.
Mothebe says the new requirements state that veterinary inspectors must be present when breaking the seal on around 45 per cent of containers before authorities take samples.
"The requirement is supposed to be based on a transparent risk assessment, using objective criteria, but in practice, the measures are being applied unilaterally, without any indication given to importers on risk criteria being applied. This means that companies importing vital food products are unable to manage their import strategies effectively."
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Mothebe says ports, particularly Durban, are creating unnecessary costs that consumers are ultimately forced to bear.
"Ports were already congested before the new measures were introduced at the beginning of the year. Government regulations undoubtedly play a vital role in ensuring the food sector operates fairly and sustainably while safeguarding public health. However, when implemented without the necessary capacity to handle the regulatory burden, these measures can have disastrous unintended consequences.
"Implementing sweeping changes without increasing inspection capacity or conducting a proper risk assessment is having severe consequences for trade and food security. There is also currently no clear or consistent policy or standards that are being applied across the country’s ports, which is deeply problematic.”
The association is calling for urgent government intervention and transparency.
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