Ostrich exporters down but not out

The SA ostrich farming industry is still surviving, according to Piet Kleyn, CEO of the SA Ostrich Business Chamber (SAOBC). But more than a trifle bruised, battered and bewildered by a ban on the export of fresh ostrich meat imposed after the outbreak of a bird f lu epidemic in 2011, he added. And that was a big thump to the industry’s earnings. The loss of 70% of the global market demand for fresh meat was estimated at the time at about R1.3 billion a year in export revenue, and about 62% of the average ostrich farmer’s income. However, the f lu, and that ban, are still in place. And there’s either a different virus out there, or the old (avian H5N2) virus has mutated somewhat, because new strains have been recorded in recent farm outbreaks, according to SAOCB. So the ban is not likely to be going soon. It was originally laid down that it wouldn’t be lifted until farmers met the laid-down hygiene and registration requirements and the country had been diseasefree for three months. And that hasn’t happened yet. The problem is it’s nearendemic. Not quite a local bug, but one carried by wild birds that migrate in from Europe and Asia every SA summer. “And they share the same ecosystem,” said Kleyn, “so the virus gets transmitted to the ostriches.” And the only answer is an ongoing immunisation programme. But it takes time while vital research has to be conducted, and producers are starving for markets. “There’s no quick fix,” said Kleyn. There are certain allowances made in the health regulations. Meat from a flu-free farm can be exported. But not fresh. Only if it goes through a certified heat treatment. However, the conditions surrounding this allowance are so bureaucratically complicated that the small sums it could earn make it hardly worthwhile, according to Kleyn. The SAOCB therefore targeted developing the local market for virus-free ostrich meat. “The companies did a lot of marketing of the product locally,” said Kleyn, “and the market has grown quickly in the last 18 months. “It takes time, though, to fully establish a product.” It does though have that claim to fat-free meat so beloved of the advertising agencies. “So the ‘Healthy, Fat-Free Food’ product image promotion is aimed at a niche-market,” Kleyn added. The buoyant health of the leather and feather marketplace also somewhat makes up part of the loss. “They’re doing very nicely,” Kleyn said, “and still keeping them (the producers) solvent in the export industry.” But a loss of over a billion rand a year has to be hurting. INSERT No head in the sand... The loss of 70% of the global market demand for fresh meat was estimated at the time at about R1.3 billion a year in export revenue.