Brazil Expects More Exports of Animal Proteins to South Africa
On 8 November 2024, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture issued a communique that 19 additional meat plants have received approval to export to South Africa. Currently, South Africa is the largest export destination for Brazilian chicken meat in Africa, accounting for 42% of Brazilian exports to Africa.
After this new wave of approval, the number of meat plants approved for export to South Africa rises to 28 which break downs into 13 for poultry, 8 for beef, 5 for pork, and 2 for equine.
“Thanks to the new batch of approval for Brazilian meat processing plants, we are looking forward to a positive impact not only for poultry meat, but also for pork, which has a great potential to contribute to Food Security in South Africa.”
ABPA President Ricardo Santin
In 2023, Brazil exported 816,000 tonnes of meat to South Africa according to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA). In the case of pork, the sales saw a significant growth of 34.7% in 2023 reaching 7,600 tonnes. By some estimates, it is projected that the meat business in South Africa is worth USD 5 billion and will experience a remarkable 9.2% growth until 2029.
To meet the insatiable demand, South Africa has attempted to increase its local production of chicken. In August 2023, it has even applied a 265% anti-dumping tax on imported chicken meat in an attempt to favor local production. However, due to ‘certain structural challenges’, it look like South Africa will have to rely on imports to ensure its #FoodSecurity for some time to come.
On the global basis, Africa is the 3rd largest regional market in terms of Brazilian meat exports, behind Asia and the Middle-East. In fact, Africa accounts for 16% of the total exports of animal proteins from Brazil.
South Africa consumes 1.8 million tonnes of meat annually and is by far the largest importer of Brazilian animal proteins. The top 5 African countries which import of Brazilian animal protein are South Africa (340,435 tonnes), Libya (76,400 tonnes), Egypt (59,136 tonnes), Ghana (56,213 tonnes), and Angola (55,698 tonnes).