Chicken shortage hits South Africa

South Africa is likely to experience a shortage of chicken and eggs in the coming few months due to a bird flu outbreak.

Astral Foods has released a report indicating that the chicken shortage in the country was being accelerated by a flu outbreak and persistent power blackouts.

As a result, prices of chicken and egg have increased sharply due to a limited supply, as an outbreak of avian flu ‒H7N6 kills birds in the country.

Avian flu, which veterinary experts say may be airborne, has resulted in the culling of a quarter of the country’s national flock.

According to South African Veterinary Association President Dr. Paul van der Merwe, the avian flu outbreak is a huge blow to the multibillion-rand poultry sector.

“We are probably going to lose a third or half of our flock. That’s going to have a massive impact on our eggs and chicken production,” said Dr. Van der Merwe.

Astral Foods noted that the electricity crisis had greatly affected the poultry industry which was already struggling with the worst bird flu outbreak.

“The bird flu has already caused short supplies of eggs into the market, and it is expected that the supply of poultry meat into the value chain could be affected negatively in the coming months,” Astral reported in a statement.

Avian flu outbreak has been reported countrywide but the most affected regions include Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the North West.

Van der Merwe noted that scientists and researchers have cited migratory birds as the main transmitters of avian influenza (AI).

However, South African Poultry Association and Egg Organisation general manager Dr Abongile Balarane maintained that the avian virus could be airborne.

“With this H7N6 we are still learning about it, but we’ve picked up that it seems as if it can also move through the wind, so it’s more likely to be airborne,” said Balarane.

At the same time, Balarane explained that the bird flu is likely to disappear with an increase in atmospheric temperature and rainfall.