fter two weeks of disruption, shipping schedules to China appear to be back on track, according to the Feedlot Association’s Dewalt Olivier who says it’s business as usual for red meat exports.“Two or three weeks ago we had issues on the route, but at the moment things are running normally. Some of the ports may be closed to people traffic, but for trade they ’re open.”
China is one of South Africa’s biggest markets, says Koos van der Ryst, chairman of the national Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO).The issue is that they need protein, says Van der Ryst, “particularly due to the pork shortage that followed the swine f lu epidemic in the country.”
The recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) perhaps dealt more of a blow to the local red meat industry.“But through bilateral negotiations, South Africa has been able to continue exporting red meat to the country thanks to a traceability system from the feedlots.”
At the time all auctions were banned – but that’s unlikely to happen again, says Van der Ryst, because they’re fairly small gatherings – no morethan 40-50 people. Stud auctions attract much larger audiences and those will need to be postponed.”The domestic market is however the biggest consumer of South Africa's red meat products, accounting for 90% of cattle and 99% of sheep.
