FAWU critical of SA government’s move to suspend anti-dumping duties of chicken from Brazil

The Food and Allied Workers Union has slammed the decision by the South African government to suspend anti-dumping duties on imported frozen chicken from Brazil. 
 
FAWU believes the announcement made on Wednesday by the Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel, will definitely kill the local poultry industry. 
 
The union also argues that the move by the DTI will also threaten job security and the suspension for up to 12 months, was taken after several months of negotiations between the Brazilian government and South Africa. 
 
The department led by Patel granted a reprieve to Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, and Spain earlier this month by lifting the implementation of anti-dumping duties against them. 
 
Media reports suggest that the government took this decision to bring relief to South African consumers as they continue to battle with the high cost of living including soaring food prices. 
 
“There will then be a closure of small-scale farms and small businesses that supply farms as they cannot continue participating in the value chain,” FAWU said. 
 
“It is even worse for the informal economy as most poor communities survive through selling chickens on the streets. 
 
“Consumers will obviously buy cheaper chicken portions because local consumers are price sensitive and it is not the fault of consumers to be price sensitive, more so that the salary scale of workers in South Africa is low, but it is the fault of practices of unfair trade where chickens are dumped in the country.” 
 
Independent Media Online published that the decision to lift the suspension for up to a year comes after Brazilian exports to South Africa exceeded $1 billion in 2021, of which about 17% corresponded to exports of frozen chicken cuts, the ministry said. 
 
As Brazil remains world’s top chicken exporter, the government’s decision to suspend the tariffs has definitely ruffled a few feathers in the industry where many stakeholders are set to challenge the decision. 
 
South Africa had been applying anti-dumping tariffs on Brazilian exporting companies since December 2021, ranging from 6% to 265.1%, in addition to an import tax, in response to overseas groups allegedly exporting meat below prices in its home market. 
 
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