South African Keeping Cheap Brazilian Chicks in Line with Duties

The South African government is slapping additional duties of 6%-63% on Brazilian exporters of chicken into the Southern African Customs Union market — but insists this will not push up prices.

Although complaints that Brazilian producers are dumping chicken in SA have not yet been proven, the authorities have already moved to protect local producers.

The additional duties will be imposed for the next 26 weeks until a preliminary investigation into poultry dumping by the International Trade Administration Commission — responsible for customs tariff investigations, trade remedies, and import and export control in SA — has been finalised.

The commission found enough evidence of dumping to ask the South African Revenue Service for increased duties on Brazilian chicken to prevent further financial distress to the domestic industry.

The commission did not foresee substantial price increases for consumers as a result of the anti-dumping duties on Brazil, Zoleka Xabendlini, senior manager of trade remedies, said on Feb. 13, 2012. However, it did expect that the duties could result in reduced imports from Brazil, which currently supplied 44% of total imports of whole, frozen chicken meat and 94% of total imports of boneless cuts.

The range of cheaper products would decrease in SA should Brazil reduce its exports.

The commission found boneless, cut imports from Aurora Alimentos (one of the Brazilian producers) were 6,26% cheaper in the customs union market than in Brazil.

All other producers in Brazil were found to be dumping whole, frozen chicken at prices 62,9 % cheaper than their market, and boneless cuts were sold 46,5 % cheaper in the customs union market than in Brazil.