As we launch into 2021 amid uncertainty over the Covid-19 pandemic, the SA poultry sector remains a strategic national industry. Chicken has long been the major source of protein for South Africans, cementing this industry’s role in assuring our country’s food security.

A modern, efficient and internationally competitive industry, and the largest component of our agriculture sector, it plays a significant role in the economy, contributing to food security and employment. The poultry industry contributes about 18% of agricultural GDP and 39% of animal-product gross value (2016 figures). The “farm-gate” value of chicken meat and egg production was about R47bn in 2016, with the retail value representing a further R10bn-R15bn...