The South African Poultry Industry is in Dire Straits and is Facing Collapse: Is it a Management and Political issue

The paper looks at the reasons as to why the South African poultry industry is in a flap and, in a state of collapse. Should South Africa shut down dumped chicken imports to prevent industry collapse, despite the fact that the European Union (EU) cries foul over the chicken crisis claims. On the other hand the South African poultry industry cries foul because of the status of import duties on poultry. The paper will look at these issues with an open mind and also argues that higher import duties will not fix all of the South African poultry sectors problems. It highlights very briefly the Trade and Industry Minister’s statement that chicken farmers are at risk. In so doing other important issues will be introduced within the narrative. It must be highlighted that the South African poultry industry is one of the most sophisticated industries on the continent of Africa, and therefore analyses some of the causes for this sudden demise. This collapse of the poultry industry is very significant in a country that is battling to curb its unemployment woes due to very serious problems within its very sluggish economy and the massive retrenchments within the industry. This is the reality that confronts the country and indeed solutions must be found to deal with this vexing issue. The paper will therefore nuance some of these issues. In the conclusion to this narrative, the author will argue that the fundamental structure of the South African economy must change in order to bring about delivery of services and deal with many of the issues that confront the country in terms of general development. The paper argues that the fundamental structure of the South African economy must change. Conclusions and recommendations are made throughout the discussion and at the end of the paper a dedicated discussion is undertaken in respect of some of the recommendations and conclusions that are provided.