info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
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Livestock farming in South Africa is recovering from the effects of the recent devastating drought and outbreaks. Due to the surge in demand for quality meat products by middle-class consumers, South Africa's livestock industry has a large gap in demand for feed additives.
Preference of meat as a key source of protein in South Africa helped raise consumption levels to 3.8 million tonnes in 2016, and together with a recovering poultry industry is expected to drive the performance of the feed additives market.
Although demand for meat, eggs and milk in South Africa had increased in previous years, negative growth was posted in 2015-16 due to outbreak of diseases that opened floodgates for imports, especially of poultry products. The effects are still being felt across the feed supply chain.
The Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA), the official industry representative body of the South African feed industry, said feed sales for 2017-18 showed a negative growth of only 0.7 percent "compared to the enormous drop in sales of 6.2 percent experienced during 2016-17, the highest percentage decrease in feed sales AFMA members have ever experienced."
"The dramatic feed sales loss experienced in 2016-17 was the direct consequence of the challenges the livestock and poultry industries had to face and overcome," said AFMA's De Wet Boshoff in a July 2018 statement.
The sales of dairy, beef and sheep, layer, broiler, breeder and other feeds was 6.9 million tonnes in 2015-16 but dropped to 6.5 million tonnes and 6.4 million tonnes for 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.
"One hundred percent of the decline in layer feed sales was due to Avian Influenza (AI), and we expect a full recovery of these lost volumes by the end of the next financial year, if we are able to remain AI-free during this period," Boshoff said.
Nevertheless, meat consumption in South Africa, a key driver in the demand for feed additives, has been on the increase since 2000, according to the country's Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).
Consumption of red meat increased to 29 kg per person in 2016 from 22 kg per person in 2000, while consumption of broiler meat per person increased to 40 kg from 22 kg for the same period, according to DAFF.
