Brazil, South Africa in Poultry Row
BRAZIL & SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's poultry industry is accusing Brazil of dumping chickens on its market and farmers say they are now forced to cut jobs because they cannot compete with Brazil's "unfairly low" prices.
3 October 2012
2 minute read
By: Brazil has denied this and has taken the matter to the World Trade Organization (WTO), reports the BBC.
South Africans eat more than one billion chickens a year - more than double the amount of beef eaten in the country, authorities say.
This means chicken farming has always been good business but local producers say the market has shrunk drastically in recent years, citing the 40 per cent year-on-year increase of Brazilian exports.
"We cannot afford to have chicken dumped in South Africa. Our people are losing jobs, our companies are losing profits. It will impact negatively on the country's economy," says Tumi Mokwene, a small-scale poultry farmer.
The local poultry industry employs more than 48,200 people directly and 59,700 indirectly but close to 3,000 people could lose their jobs in the next few months, authorities say.
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Further ReadingYou can view the full story on the BBC website by clicking here. |
