South African meat importers and exporters have welcomed measures the government is taking to combat the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the country.
This comes after agriculture minister John Steenhuisen provided an update on Monday on measures being taken, such as the procurement of additional vaccines, the lifting of certain Disease Management Areas (DMAs) and the establishment of an industry/government Task Team.
Steenhuisen said the government had procured 900 000 doses of vaccine so far this financial year from the Botswana Vaccine Institute to the value of R72 million.
“The first 500 000 doses arrived in June and were used to vaccinate cattle in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, North West and Free State. Just over a week ago, we received the remaining 400 000 doses, of which 50 000 are already distributed. The remaining doses of the vaccine will go to areas currently experiencing outbreaks – these include Free State, Mpumalanga, North West and Gauteng.”
He said at the beginning of 2025, active FMD outbreaks had been confined to KwaZulu-Natal.
“Unfortunately, by the end of May, new outbreaks had emerged in other provinces.
“At present, there are 274 unresolved outbreaks across KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, North West and Mpumalanga. Positive cases have been confirmed in all cattle farming systems – commercial beef herds, animal breeding, feedlots, dairy cattle, and communal herds.”
In KwaZulu-Natal, the outbreaks have continued to spread westward, with confirmed cases in the Dundee, Dannhauser, Newcastle, Alfred Duma, Okhahlamba, uMshwathi, eDumbe, and eMadlangeni local municipalities.
“Fortunately, the disease appears to have abated in the eastern part of the DMA, though 180 outbreaks remain open in the province. The virus spread from KwaZulu-Natal into Mpumalanga through an auction in February. By late May, additional outbreaks were reported in Gauteng, North West, western Mpumalanga and Free State.”
Steenhuisen said investigations suggested both farm-to-farm spread and “pinpoint” introductions associated with livestock movements where isolation protocols had not been observed as contributors to the spread of the disease. Current numbers are as follows: Gauteng, 54 outbreaks; North West, 26; Mpumalanga, 9; and Free State, 5.
The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) said the government’s current measures to combat the disease were important building blocks toward stabilising animal health and rebuilding export confidence,
AMIE said Steenhuisen recognised that FMD was a national emergency and the progress made in resolving outbreaks in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo was encouraging.
“The persistence of more than 270 unresolved outbreaks across multiple provinces, however, remains concerning,” the association said.
AMIE welcomed the Minister’s recognition of the central role of vaccines in controlling FMD and his commitment to commission a domestic production facility by March 2026.
“In addition to securing a long-term solution, short-term solutions to the vaccine shortage need to be found, such as procurement from trusted international suppliers. In this regard, AMIE encourages the Task Team to coordinate resource mobilisation from industry towards procurement of additional vaccines to speed up the vaccination programme in support of government interventions,” AMIE said.
The association said it was also critical that the departments of Trade, Industry and Competition and Agriculture continued to work closely together to expedite the resumption of trade.
“The recent joint engagement between the ministers of Agriculture and of Trade, Industry and Competition sets an important precedent in this regard. A collaborative approach is essential to ensure agility, faster execution, and consistent alignment between veterinary measures and trade policy,” said AMIE.
AMIE CEO, Imameleng Mothebe, said South Africa’s red-meat brand was worth protecting.
“If we execute sufficient vaccines at pace, work closely together and harness public-private capacity through the new task team, we can restore market access faster and grow the country’s much-needed export sector,” Mothebe said.
