The views expressed by US undersecretary for agriculture Ted McKinney on his trip to SA are uninformed, arrogant and regrettable. Despite the absence of subsidies and despite more expensive feed, the SA poultry industry is remarkably competitive. The regions with the real problem are the US and the EU, whose consumers don’t eat the so-called dark meat, or leg quarters, and they are therefore continuously looking for dumping grounds for these surplus cuts. Hence McKinney’s mission to Southern Africa. Dumping means these portions are sold in markets such as SA and other African countries at well below the cost of production. The landed price has nothing to do with the real cost of production, nor with efficiency. It is also a fact that the US has been repeatedly found guilty of this predatory act of dumping by the independent International Trade Administration Commission. Importers profit from cheaper dumped portions, and consumers do not benefit. All that happens is that SA loses job...
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