South African bodies lock horns on US poultry
The US and South Africa have been locked in negations to resolve a dispute over imports of US poultry this week, with both parties unable to reach an agreement on the treatment of salmonella-infected chicken.
On Wednesday 6 January, SAPA CEO Kevin Lovell said that lowering South Africa’s poultry standards to below “international norms” was “simply a price not worth paying”.
“Having different standards for the US compared to all other importers and local producers [would place South Africa’s] human and animal health at risk,” he added.
The statement from the SAPA boss follows a briefing from Rob Davies, South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry on Monday 4 January. Davies told local reporters that South Africa might be suspended from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to Fin24.
AGOA is a piece of legislation set up to help sub-Saharan African states improve trade relations with the US and the wider region.
'Unreasonable and extraordinary'
After news of South Africa’s possible suspension from AGOA broke, The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters of SA (AMIE) criticised SAPA for “stubborn protectionism” of the poultry sector.
In a statement published on Tuesday 5 January, CEO of AMIE David Wolpert said: “Their [SAPA’s] insistence on unreasonable and extraordinary measures to protect the uncompetitive local industry, while constantly demonising American poultry – which is already subject to more stringent testing than SA products – has come at a very high price indeed.”
SAPA have "dragged their heels"
However, the AMIE boss said this statement caused confusion when it was published two days ago. “I don’t think that SAPA is the primary issue,” Wolpert said on Thursday 7 January.
“They did a laudable job in the initial negotiations and then dragged their heels and demonised the Americans for some reason. The main problem is that it took South Africa seven months to put quota regulations in place, resulting in insufficient time to resolve veterinary issues,” he added.
Wolpert concluded: “South Africa simply cannot afford anything less” than to find a “workable compromise” with the US over the testing standards of poultry.
