The row over chicken imports is not going away any time soon.
The latest bone of contention involves the announcement by Itac that meat importers have been granted flexibility in choosing the chicken products for which they would like to apply tariff rebates, despite objections from local poultry producers who argue there's no supply shortage.
According to FairPlay, chicken importers will be able to apply tariff rebates to imports of chicken products of their choosing. This means they can fill their allocation with the products that provide the most profit.
This was confirmed by South Africa’s trade regulator Itac in response to questions from the advocacy group. The rebates are designed to encourage chicken imports to counter a shortage which local poultry producers insist does not exist. Producers say the rebates will cause a surplus, not fill a supply gap.
The chicken products available for import tariff rebates are carcasses, offal (chicken livers, feet, heads etc), boneless cuts and bone-in portions.
FairPlay points out that Itac, the International Trade Administration Commission, has approved a quota of 43 000 tonnes of chicken products that can be imported at the discounted rates during the first three months of this year. There is a possibility that the quota will be repeated for the second quarter.
Itac communications manager Thalukanyo Nangammbi told FairPlay that no details would be provided to individual importers of permit allocations or of the geographical areas in which the rebate permits would apply. It would provide information only on an aggregated basis for the three-month period.
“The volume allocated to applicants can be used to import any of the following products,” he said, before listing them.