SA in talks with other countries for fair poultry trade, says Ramaphosa
There are concerns about food security as the bird flu outbreak is
causing a shortage of eggs and leading to price increases in poultry products.
Answering questions in the National Council of Provinces on Thursday
afternoon, Ramaphosa said government was busy negotiating fair trading deals
with various countries.
The Department of Agriculture earlier this month said it was fast-tracking new import permits for companies to bring in eggs from other countries.
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This while the poultry industry has urged the government to impose permanent duties on countries like Brazil, Denmark, Poland, Spain, and the United States to fend off the dumping of cheap chicken products in country.
"As much as the prices may be lower, because they are able to have much lower production costs in their own country, when they come here, they threaten the jobs of South Africans and that is precisely what we need to focus on.
"We have been engaged in similar talks and engagements with many other countries and those matters are dealt with through trade protocols that we have because we don't in the end want our country to be a dumping ground."
