South Africa's meat importers have urged the International Trade Administration of South Africa (Itac) to reject a bid to extend and raise anti-dumping duties on European chicken. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) argues that the application relies on flawed price comparisons and fails to establish that removing the measures would harm local producers. This dispute has significant implications for the price of a staple protein for millions of lower-income households in the country.
The AMIE has requested that Itac allow duties on frozen bone-in chicken from Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK to expire. According to research by the South African Reserve Bank, tariffs, anti-dumping duties, and safeguard measures raised frozen chicken retail prices by 16.2% in 2012-21 relative to what they would otherwise have been. The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) has requested another five years of protection and substantially higher duties.
Itac opened a sunset review on August 14 after finding sufficient preliminary evidence to investigate Sapa's argument that removing the measures would probably lead to continued or renewed dumping and material injury to regional producers. However, this finding does not constitute a final determination that the duties should be renewed. According to Kherina Narotam, a trade attorney at Commodity Trade Observer, the law presumes these duties expire, and a sunset review is a fresh test of current evidence.
The AMIE disputes Sapa's calculated dumping margins of 425.64% for Germany, 32.48% for the Netherlands, and 61.84% for the UK, arguing that the comparisons are not sufficiently representative of the products under review. Itac's notice said Sapa used German exports to Ghana to establish an export price because the South African Revenue Service and TradeMap did not record the relevant direct trade with South Africa during the investigation period.
The AMIE argues that changes in European markets weaken the case that large volumes would be redirected to South Africa. The association points to declining German poultry production and avian influenza restrictions, the UK's reliance on imports, and stronger European demand for Dutch poultry. Improved sales, production, employment, and profitability among domestic producers should also inform the assessment of potential injury.
The AMIE cited stronger earnings at Rainbow Chicken and JSE-listed Astral, alongside a competitiveness benchmark by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy and Wageningen University that ranked South Africa second behind Brazil. Sapa's position is that expiry would expose producers in the Southern African Customs Union to renewed or continued dumping and material injury.
The outcome of this dispute will have significant implications for the price and availability of chicken in South Africa. The AMIE CEO, Paul Matthew, emphasized that decisions affecting the price and availability of an important food staple must be based on robust and representative evidence. The association argues that support for domestic production should be weighed alongside supply security and affordability.
Key points
- The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters disputes Sapa's calculated dumping margins.
- The South African Poultry Association requests another five years of protection and substantially higher duties.
- The dispute has significant implications for the price of chicken in South Africa.
