SOUTH AFRICA – The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has welcomed the renewal of anti-dumping duties on imports of bone-in chicken from Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
The determination was issued by the independent International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC), which, upon investigation, found that dumping by the three countries had continued in spite of anti-dumping duties of between 3.86 and 73.33 percent imposed in 2015.
The ITAC ruling follows an application by Sapa for the renewal of anti-dumping duties which were first imposed in 2015 and set to expire in 2020.
In addition, Sapa had requested astonishingly large anti-dumping duties of 307 percent for Germany, 176 percent for the Netherlands and 92 percent for the UK to be added on top of the current bilateral safeguard duties, reports IOL.
The ITAC recommendation is for a continuation of existing anti-dumping duties on bone-in imports from these countries for a further five years – 30.09% on chicken from the UK, 22.81% on chicken from the Netherlands and 73.33% on chicken from Germany.
It found that, should the anti-dumping duties be removed, there was a likelihood that dumping would continue, causing material harm to the local poultry industry.
The sanctions will apply to all producers in the three countries (except three producers in the UK and one in the Netherlands) because its investigation did not show a likelihood that they would continue dumping.
“We are delighted that ITAC has upheld our application for a renewal of these anti-dumping duties,” said Sapa broiler division head Izaak Breitenbach, adding that the renewal would secure economic growth and job creation in South Africa.
“The poultry industry faces the prospect of renewed dumping, with damage to the local industry, slower transformation and a loss of jobs, if the duties are not renewed.
“This will be disastrous, with loss of revenue, profits and market share when the industry is already under severe pressure,” he bemoaned.
The set import tariffs are part of the Poultry Sector Master plan aimed to boost growth of the sector alongside increased investment to improve production capacity.
According to a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) recent report by USDA, poultry meat production in the country is projected to rise by 4% in 2021 to reach 1.57 million tons from 1.51 million tons in 2020.
Meanwhile, the South African government has successfully negotiated a new export certificate for poultry products the United Arab Emirates.
SAPA expects access to more countries to follow soon, and steps are being taken to facilitate exports to the country’s neighbours belonging to the South African Customs Union, namely South Africa and Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia.
South African Poultry Association, South Africa poultry industry, South Africa anti dumping poultry duties.
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