David Wolpert, lobbyist for the chicken importers (Mystery chicken dumpers, August24), need wonder no more. The source of dumped chicken imports is no mystery. Details are published monthly by the South African Revenue Service. Figures for May show that bone-in imports (mainly leg and thigh portions) were dominated by Brazil (33%) followed by the US (25%) and Belgium (21%), showing that after EU imports were halted by bird flu Brazil took up the slack. These imports are coming into Durban at between R14/kg-R18/kg. But of course Wolpert knows this. He has presumably also noticed how prices are adjusted to result in an almost uniform R20/kg after import duties. Brazil, subject to 37% duties, sells at R14.30 and the postduty price is R19.59. EU countries can sell at R18 because they only pay 13% duties, bringing the price to R20. All of this is greatly lower than the producer prices in any of the countries concerned. Dumped chicken is killing a competitive local industry, taking jobs a...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.