{"id":98017,"date":"2025-05-28T16:56:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T14:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=98017"},"modified":"2025-05-28T16:56:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T14:56:58","slug":"avian-flu-outbreak-in-brazil-poses-major-threat-to-south-africas-poultry-supply-and-food-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/avian-flu-outbreak-in-brazil-poses-major-threat-to-south-africas-poultry-supply-and-food-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Avian Flu Outbreak in Brazil Poses Major Threat to South Africa\u2019s Poultry Supply and Food Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read<\/em>
\n28 May 2025 | 16:53 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

Avian flu outbreak in Brazil threatens South Africa\u2019s food security as poultry imports plummet, prompting urgent calls for government action to prevent rising prices and job losses.<\/p><\/div>\n

An outbreak of avian influenza in Brazil\u2019s Rio state has raised red flags for South Africa\u2019s food security and economy, with serious implications for the poultry industry and low-income households. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) is calling for urgent government intervention to mitigate the crisis.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Radio Islam International<\/a>, AMIE CEO Imamleng Mothebe warned that Brazil\u2019s dominance in global poultry exports\u2014particularly in mechanically deboned meat (MDM)\u2014makes this outbreak a critical concern. \u201cWe import 18,000 metric tons of MDM monthly, used in sausages, rations, and colognes, along with 4,000 tons of chicken feet, 467 tons of chicken livers and 1,500 tons of dessert cuts,\u201d Mothebe noted.<\/p>\n

This volume is far beyond what local producers can supply. \u201cLocal producers say they\u2019ll ramp up production by a million birds a week, which is about four million a month. But to meet current demand just for chicken feet, we\u2019d need 54 million birds monthly. The math doesn\u2019t add up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The avian flu outbreak has already impacted prices. \u201cIn just one week, MDM prices jumped from R13 to R31 per kilogram,\u201d Mothebe revealed. \u201cThat\u2019s devastating for consumers, especially low-income households that rely on affordable protein sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mothebe explained that countries globally are shifting toward regionalisation<\/em>\u2014a concept endorsed by the World Organisation for Animal Health\u2014which allows trade to continue from unaffected regions of a country during outbreaks. \u201cImagine closing all of South Africa because there\u2019s a chicken flu outbreak in Limpopo. That\u2019s essentially what\u2019s happening with Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

While countries like Russia, Namibia, and Kazakhstan have already established regional trade agreements with Brazil, South Africa lags behind. \u201cWe\u2019ve been urging government for two years to act on regionalisation. There\u2019s no progress, and now we\u2019re facing the consequences,\u201d Mothebe said.<\/p>\n

He stressed the long-term risks if supply chains remain disrupted: \u201cFactories like Eskort that rely on MDM will shut down, and once they close, they rarely reopen. Job losses will follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 93% of South Africa\u2019s MDM sourced from Brazil, finding a substitute supplier is unlikely. \u201cThere\u2019s no viable alternative at Brazil\u2019s scale,\u201d Mothebe concluded. \u201cWe need swift government action before the full brunt of this crisis hits our economy and consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Your World Today<\/a> with Moulana Habib Bobat and Imamleng Mothebe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 28 May 2025 | 16:53 CAT An outbreak of avian influenza in Brazil\u2019s Rio state has raised red flags for South Africa\u2019s food security and economy, with serious implications for the poultry industry and low-income households. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) is calling for urgent government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":98018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/brazil-bird-flu-outbreak-768x734-1.png?fit=768%2C734&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-puV","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 23:05:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}