Zuko Komisa
The avian influenza outbreak is under control, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development Thoko Didiza. He says that 70% of farms remain free of the disease and continue to farm chickens and eggs.
The Minister stated that the current avian influenza outbreak, commonly referred to as “avian flu” or “bird flu,” is not the only reason why South Africa has been importing table eggs for many years, including fertilized, pasteurized, liquid, and powdered eggs.
Didiza reported that nine million fertilized eggs—including 37 802 tons of day-old chicks, 62 metric tons of egg products, and 30 986 metric tons of poultry meat—had been imported in order to get ready for the holiday season.
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Avoid panic buying
Didiza stated in a department statement that there is currently no need for panic buying because the egg supply is gradually replenishing.
“We have increased fertilised eggs from 1.9 million to 9 million in less than one month. These eggs will be chickens in less than four months,” Didiza said.
“Other countries including Brazil, USA and Argentina have been exporting eggs to South Africa for quite some time, and the department is currently processing import permit applications from a few more countries.
“The department does not dictate which countries should make business sense for South African retailers to import eggs from, it only ensures that biosecurity risk assessments are conducted when importers apply for import permits, we will continue to import more eggs should the situation not improve,”
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza
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