BUSINESS NEWS
EU ostrich ban not devastating
Posted Fri, 07 Jul 2006
A European Union ban on ostrich imports and meat from two Western Cape districts would not be devastating, the SA Ostrich Business Chamber (SAOBC) said on Thursday.
"We're grateful it's not the entire country. It is the low season for ostrich consumption in Europe so most of the abattoirs are closed for routine maintenance in any case, so the effect will not be that big as it was in 2004," said Anton Kruger, chief executive of the SAOBC.
The European Union (EU) on Wednesday informed the national department of agriculture of the ban, after an outbreak of avian influenza was detected in the Western Cape districts of Mossel Bay and Riversdale.
The H5N2 strain of the disease was recently detected in these areas.
South Africa's Agriculture department said on Monday an ostrich farm near Mossel Bay was placed under quarantine after the precautionary culling of sixty ostriches suspected of having avian influenza.
The department said tests at the
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute confirmed the H5N2 strain detected near Mossel Bay was similar to the one that South Africa "successfully" eradicated in May 2004.
"South African ostrich and poultry meat remains safe for consumption," the department said.
The current EU ban would stay until the end of October and apply to live ostriches, their eggs, meat and meat products.
The ban also extended to emus, another flightless bird commonly found in Australia, but also farmed in limited numbers in South Africa.
Kruger said as far as he knew there were no emus exported from the two affected districts, which accounted for only ten percent of the ostrich-producing part of South Africa.
In 2004 the EU imposed a nationwide ban on the country after a similar outbreak was detected in the Eastern Cape, leading to 15 000 ostriches being culled.
"In 2004 we lost R700-million and 4000 jobs. The ban was for 15 months, from August 2004 to October
2005," said Kruger.
The total export value of the industry was about R1.2-billion, with meat accounting for some R500-million. The bulk of the money came from leather and feather exports, and these were not affected by the EU ban.
Kruger said since 2004 the industry took steps to "tighten up" the sector, in for example, the area of bio-security.
He said farmers were urged to cover up their water troughs to prevent wild birds from accessing them. Farmers were also encouraged to purify water and disinfect their vehicles.
"We also have a high-quality surveillance and tracking system of movement control," said Kruger.
He said the chamber was "very satisfied" with the swift action taken by both the national and provincial departments of agriculture to contain the outbreak and mitigate the risks associated with it.
Sapa
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