Photo: FW Archive
Anti-dumping duties on bone-in chicken imports were renewed against the UK, Germany and the Netherlands for an additional five years on 23 August 2021.
This followed an investigation by the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC), which found that the expiry of anti-dumping duties could lead to material injury to the local poultry injury.
ITAC recommended for the duties to stay the same as when they were first imposed in 2015, at 30,09% for bone-in chicken imports from the UK, 22,81% for the Netherlands and 73,33% for Germany.
The sanctions will apply to all producers in the three countries, except for three producers in the UK and one in the Netherlands who were found to be unlikely to continue dumping.
Izaak Breitenbach, head of the Broiler Organisation at the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), said they were delighted with ITAC’s decision to uphold their application for a renewal of these anti-dumping tariffs.
“The removal of the anti-dumping duties would have been disastrous, resulting in lost revenue, profits and market share for an industry that is already under severe pressure. This in turn would have led to slower transformation and job shedding,” he said.
SAPA has also applied for anti-dumping duties against Brazil, Ireland, Poland, Spain and Denmark, with the outcome expected during the first quarter of 2022.
“A successful application will have a material and positive impact on the local industry,” Breitenbach said.
Joandra Cloete, a smallholder farmer and owner of Our Poultry Place, said the renewal of the anti-dumping duties was good news for smallholder farmers.
“We are already struggling to make ends meet because of rising input costs, with feed prices alone increasing three times since the start of the year. Having to compete with dumped chicken would have made it even more difficult for us.”
