Chicken imports surged to new high in 2018, says poultry association
Local industry has applied for higher import duties to stem the tide and prevent further job losses
Chicken imports reached a new record high in 2018 worsening the crisis facing the domestic chicken industry, the SA Poultry Association (Sapa) says. It based its conclusions on data on chicken imports drawn from official Sars statistics. The chicken industry has long been under the siege of rival imports, particularly of bone-in-chicken portions, and has shed hundreds of jobs as a result. Sapa successfully applied to the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) for safeguard duties against European chicken imports. It has also recently applied for a hike in the ad valorem tariff (the levying of tax or customs duties) proportionate to the estimated value of the goods or transaction concerned) duties for bone-in and boneless chicken portions to 82% from the current tariffs of 12% for boneless portions and 37% for bone-in cuts. Sapa reported on Friday that imports in 2018 were 19% higher than the five-year average from 2013 to 2017. Brazil has become the dominant source of ...
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