The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) says the industry is in recovery following a recent outbreak of bird flu, resulting in the culling of 8.5 million chickens.
However, a full recovery is only expected within 18 months.
SA battled two strains of highly-pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1 and H7N6 – and resultant outbreaks across several provinces.
The HPAI affects poultry and wild birds, and in SA millions of birds and chickens have been culled to contain the spread of the virus.
This resulted in the price of chicken and eggs skyrocketing, with a tray of eggs selling for just over R100.
SAPA Broiler Organisation General Manager Izaak Breitenbach said evidence points to the infection rate having peaked, and after very serious initial concerns, the recovery process is currently underway.
Breitenbach said the recent HPAI outbreaks posed an unprecedented threat to the industry.
Breitenbach says: “It never had to deal with the volume and rate of infection before, far surpassing the 2017 HPAI outbreaks. Thankfully, the swift action of the industry brought the recovery time down, and we expect the industry to fully recover within 18 months.”
Farmers are required to cull infected animals in accordance with the Animal Diseases Act of 1984. To date, 8.5 million chickens have been culled to curb outbreaks, this includes slightly over 2.5 million broiler breeder chickens and approximately 6 million of SA’s layer flock.
Poultry farmers have been badly affected by the outbreak and are not compensated for their losses, he added.
Breitenbach says: “A change in policy is needed to support impacted producers, and such a cost recovery mechanism will serve well to keep consumer prices low and our farmers afloat.”
The virus can be found in the faeces of infected birds and discharges from their noses, mouths and eyes.
Last month, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said sporadic cases of H5N1 infection have been reported in humans related to outbreaks in birds, but that infection in humans remains very rare, with only eight cases globally reported to the World Health Organisation in 2023.
The NICD said that poultry products were safe for consumption.