TRADE PRACTICES
Chicken industry’s survival rests on a level playing field for import tariffs
European countries have been accused of destroying industries in countries such as Ghana, Benin and Nigeria
Is SA making a wise economic decision by imposing tariffs on European chicken? Should consumers not benefit from the cheaper chicken that the European imports provide? These are two of the questions posed by those who have spoken out in defence of the dumping of leg quarters, which has plunged the South African chicken industry into a bare-fisted battle for survival. Consumers want the cheapest price, while producers want reasonable profits and when the two meet and agree on a price that both can live with, that is what makes for demand-and-supply equations. However, there are never just consumers and producers in the picture: in any market, there are also importers and retailers and policy, which all play a role in the demand-and-supply equation. It is complicated and in the case of European agricultural products, the matter is further complicated by agricultural subsidies and many other EU policy regulations and rules. As an economist, I believe in free trade, but I also know when...
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