Worst bird flu epidemic yet, ravages South Africa
More than 20% of South Africa’s chickens have died, or been culled in recent weeks to deal with a new highly contagious strain of bird flu. The two largest chicken producers, which have lost more than R335m, have been creative, with Astral even flying in eggs on Boeings. Is this likely to get worse, and what does this mean for households?
02 November 2023 - 05:03
In the middle of October, South African shoppers found themselves standing, confused and disorientated, in front of empty shelves where trays of eggs used to be. Videos went viral of people giving gifts of eggs with captions like “my man spoiling me”, others of people staring, dumbstruck, at the soaring price tags of eggs.
Reuben Beelders, chief investment officer of fund manager Gryphon, sent out a note to clients lamenting “new levels of insanity” in the world, as “we welcome a new asset class: eggs”. ..
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