Julius Malema wants 50% tariff to protect local chicken farmers
The EFF leader has some other far-reaching changes he would like to see in the industry
EFF president Julius Malema has called for an immediate 50% tariff on all chicken imports to stem the demise of the domestic poultry industry. His call, in a letter to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, comes as major chicken producers such as RCL plan retrenchments and plant closures because they are unable to compete with low priced imports of bone-in chicken portions, particularly from Europe. The crisis has also been highlighted by the Food and Allied Workers’ Union, which has also called for urgent government intervention. Davies approved a provisional 13.9% duty on bone-in chicken imports from Europe in December but the industry says this is hopelessly inadequate and falls far short of the 37% safeguard duty applied for from the International Trade Administration Commission.
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