In an effort to drive growth in the economy, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition(the dtic), said on Sunday that it aims to have the poultry sector pursue an export-driven growth strategy.
The dtic said in a statement that this would be led by the Deputy Minister of thedtic, Zuko Godlimpi.
A phase two master plan framework to guide the implementation of this strategy is under development through a collaborative action between government, industry and all social partners.
This was according to the Chief Director of Agro-processing at the dtic, Ncumisa Mcata-Mhlauli, who spoke during a visit to the Rainbow Chicken plant in Rustenburg, North-West.
The Poultry Sector Master Plan 2030 was signed off in November 2019 at the 2nd South Africa Investment Conference.
Phase one of the master plan concluded in 2023, and had a focus seeking to address a number of serious challenges faced by the poultry industry including high feed costs, export barriers, as well as increasing imports primarily from Brazil and the United States of America.
According to Mcata-Mhlauli the second phase of the master plan will mainly focus on growth driven by exports of cooked meat and local demand increase strategies, effective trade measures, biosecurity measures for local and export markets, and transformation of the poultry industry, among others.
“The other focus areas proposed by the social partners include addressing food security and malnutrition; proposal on Value Added Tax exemption for some poultry products; funding; and other support for contract farmers and small businesses, with job creation, job-loss mitigation and transformation as cross-cutting themes. The ongoing process to finalise and sign off the phase two framework is being facilitated through the convener’s structure of the master plan and bilaterals with constituencies represented,” said Mcata-Mhlauli.
Mcata-Mhlauli also highlighted the dtic’s role in regards to trade support for the poultry industry and pointed out its importance towards ensuring protection of the industry against imports, as well as promotion of exports.
“It is important for us to engage with the industry on several issues that require collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development. This partnership is essential to provide primary support to farmers, ensuring that there is sufficient production to feed the nation. Most importantly, government needs to support the investment efforts of the industry enabling optimal employment of existing capacities created as this will ensure sustainable growth of the industry envisaged,” Mcata-Mhlauli further added.
The poultry industry is the largest contributor to the agricultural sector with a total annual gross value of production of almost R72 billion in 2022, accounting for 17.1% of the total agricultural gross value.
In the period 2019 to 2023 since the master plan implementation begun the aggregate chicken meat inclusive of fresh, frozen, whole and offal displayed a 6% growth in exports.
BUSINESS REPORT