Poultry group Astral Foods says demand for some of its higher-margin products has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but profits remain under pressure as the industry battles a slew of headwinds including elevated feed costs as well as erratic water and electricity supply.

Surging oil prices and continued buoyancy in global grain prices meant four price increases were not sufficient to cover rising input costs in the group’s 2021 year, with CEO Chris Schutte telling Business Day the first three simply saw prices recover to pre-pandemic levels...

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