Zimbabwe enforces blanket ban on animal product imports from SA

In an official notification from Zimbabwe’s ministry of agriculture, all imports of animal and animal products from SA have been banned since March 30. This decision, said the ministry, followed a series of outbreaks of rift valley fever in the Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Free State provinces in February. Although official confirmation has not yet been received, the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) told FTW “we understand that the ban covers all animal and dairy products” – which would include beef, milk (in all forms), cheese, butter, yogurt, dairy juices, ice-cream, chocolate, chickens, table eggs, hatching eggs, pork products, salamis, pies, processed meats, tinned goods (beef, ham, meat balls, Viennas) and even fish. The communiqué also requests SA Revenue Service (Sars) customs to inform members of staff at ports of entry (especially Beitbridge) of this development in order to enforce the ban in conjunction with ministry port health inspectors. The ministry also said that the ban was “a temporary and precautionary measure and will be lifted once the situation is addressed in SA” – and that it was “working together with the SA government” on the issue.