SOUTH Africa should scrap all trade-related tariffs on chicken, introduce a three-year moratorium on new duties and remove value-added tax on the protein to ease pressure on food costs, according to a group that represents importers and exporters of poultry, beef and pork.
The removal of tariffs alone could translate into a 33% decrease in prices of bone-in chicken pieces and a drop of as much as 20% on chicken offal, Paul Matthew, chief executive officer of the South African Association of Meat Importers and Exporters, said in an online briefing on Monday.
While chicken is the most affordable source of protein in South Africa, a steady increase in costs partly due to duties and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the value of feed and food security, combined with increases in domestic transport and electricity dues means the country is “facing a chicken-price tsunami,” he said.
The average price of chicken increased by about 10% annually over the past decade, according to the association. – Bloomberg
