SOUTH Africa’s ostrich farmers are desperately waiting for a ban on meat exports to be lifted, with time and money running out.
About 740 farms used to be registered with the South African Ostrich Business Chamber (SAOBC), but this number decreased when the H5N2 bird-flu virus broke out last year in the Klein Karoo, in the Western Cape.
“This (number) has reduced significantly in the past few months, with the European Union export ban being a main driver, as it’s no longer profitable,” says Piet Kleyn, interim CEO of the business chamber.
The EU used to import 90% of South Africa’s ostrich meat.
The ban’s effects have been keenly felt by ostrich farms — mostly located in the Klein Karoo valley, southern Cape and Eastern Cape — that used to slaughter 250000 birds a year for meat, leather and feathers.
More than 40000 infected ostriches were culled following last year’s outbreak, according to Wouter Kriel, spokesman for the Western Cape department of agriculture.
He said the industry was losing about R108m a month in export revenue, while 20000 job opportunities were at stake.
The national government provided compensation of R50m to farmers who lost birds, but many had to close their farms or survive with a limited flock.
A highly pathogenic virus form was last detected in October. A low pathogenic form, which caused mild disease in poultry, was found in February but had already been eliminated, said Mr Kriel.
However, the agriculture department will apply to lift the ban only once the industry has been restructured — in line with the recommendations of a EU delegation that visited South Africa in February. It required that all farmers re-register their businesses and comply with regulations before being allowed to export meat.
According to the delegation, this was necessary to protect South Africa’s image as a reliable and responsible exporter, said Mr Kriel, adding that the industry agreed with the recommendations, but time was running out.
“As the Western (Cape) province, we are lobbying the national government to rethink this approach … let’s rather allow a few guys to export now. Let’s find ways to get them to export at this stage, otherwise the industry will collapse,” he said.
“This (process) might take as a long as a year,” Mr Kriel added. “We have a situation where all the (ostrich) farmers in the export business haven’t had income for a year. They are struggling to survive and have to invest more capital in order to export.”
The EU delegation wanted reduced bird and farm density, less movement of ostriches between farms and areas, and tightened ostrich health regulations.
Mr Kleyn said he believed a solution could be found if farmers, businesses and the national and provincial government worked together.
Farmers are increasingly looking to the domestic market to sell ostrich meat, but it is a niche market favoured mostly by health-conscious consumers.
“It’s ironic and frustrating,” Mr Kleyn said. “The meat that we are not allowed to export is perfectly safe and can be sold into the domestic market. It is very small, though, and wherever we could, we’ve been trying to campaign and lobby.”
Ostrich is an expensive meat as it cannot be sold on the bone, unlike beef and mutton. A 95kg bird yields only about 15kg-17kg of prime cuts.
Mr Kleyn said a glimmer of hope for farmers was “a nice increase” in the price of leather and feathers.
Last month, Business Day reported that farmers could sidestep the export ban by selling heat-processed meat abroad, as the ban excluded meat “precooked” for just three seconds at 70° C.
As a result, Oudtshoorn-based company Klein Karoo International received an order from Germany for 40 tons of heat-treated ostrich meat, said MD Johan Stumpf at the time.
Although farmers do not get as high a price for heat-processed meat as for raw ostrich meat, the processed product guarantees an all-year export market, unaffected by the avian flu ban.
The national Department of Agriculture was unable to comment on Thursday as it was briefing Parliament on its budget vote.
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Article source: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=170979