Bird flu outbreak has suppliers on eggshells

Suppliers of kosher chicken are concerned about the avian influenza or bird flu plaguing South Africa’s poultry industry, but insist that there’s “no cause for alarm” and that the kosher supply is being monitored carefully.

“There’s no cause for panic. Our community will have sufficient supply, but this is a very real problem. It’s not a joke,” said Ami Bolnick, the managing director of kosher chicken producer Tenderchick, the only kosher supplier in Gauteng. “This is the biggest outbreak South Africa has ever seen. The market is being hammered. I have never witnessed it to such an extent, and I’ve been operating for more than 30 years.”

He told the SA Jewish Report that “so far, the egg supply in the country has been more affected than the chicken supply”, but there are concerns about the reduction of fully grown chickens.

The shortage of day-old chicks is affecting Tenderchick’s contract growers, resulting in a reduction in their required volumes.

But Bolnick has urged consumers not to engage in panic buying, saying that there are contingency plans in place which offer reassurance for the next few months. However, he acknowledged the unpredictability of the situation and the potential for rapid change.

“We do have sufficient supply to meet demand at the moment, but we don’t know how long this flu will have an impact on the market. It’s a moving target,” he said.

The South African poultry industry is grappling with two bird flu strains – H5N1 and H7N6. The latest outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI/bird flu) has skyrocketed. The strain H5N1 is mainly affecting poultry in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, mostly in wild birds, and hasn’t entered poultry units.

There’s more concern over the spread of the H7N6, which was initially picked up in a small scale farm in Mpumalanga and has spread to Gauteng, Free State, Limpopo, and North West province.

The initial brunt of the outbreak has been borne by the egg supply, yet the shortages hatcheries are grappling with may cascade into a shortage of fully grown chickens for slaughter.

“There’s a shortage of day-old chick supplies to our growers,” Bolnick said. “Tenderchick has contract growers who supply fully grown chickens to our abattoir when they are 32 days old and ready for slaughter. Their supply has been cut drastically. Our supply is being affected by avian flu. Our required volumes are being reduced by about 30% . At this stage, we’ll still receive sufficient volumes to meet our demand.

“We’ll get through this and there’s no need to panic. It’s a dynamic situation and things are changing all the time as the disease moves,” Bolnick said.

He said it was fortunate that the situation didn’t have an effect on the peak Jewish holiday period. “Non-kosher consumers, however, may be affected in the next few months as demand increases over the Christmas holiday period.”

The South African government and the national poultry association has reported the culling of about 7.5 million chickens to contain the avian influenza outbreaks. These outbreaks have affected both egg and poultry supplies, leading to restrictions on egg purchases in some Johannesburg stores.

Gauteng has been the hardest hit, with more than half of the outbreaks occurring there. The culling of birds represents a substantial portion of South Africa’s chicken stock.

To address supply constraints, the government is expediting import permits for foreign eggs and considering a vaccination programme to control the spread of the disease. The impact of the crisis has extended beyond South Africa, with Namibia banning chicken and egg imports.

The poultry industry, already dealing with electricity shortages, has incurred significant losses. The hope now lies in importing vaccines, with a potential time frame of two to six months for their availability.

According to reports, there has been an increase in bird flu outbreaks globally, with more than 21 000 incidents reported between 2013 and 2022. Human infection remains rare. In South Africa, eggs are an essential and affordable protein source, and the rising prices and shortages due to bird flu are expected to contribute to ongoing food inflation.

Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza met retailers earlier this week to discuss the unfolding impact in South Africa and the government’s efforts to contain the plague.

“The minister briefed the retailers on containment measures that have been taken to limit the spread of the disease as well as possible solutions to manage such outbreaks in the short and medium term, including vaccination,” an agriculture department statement said, pointing out that the main challenge was on the egg production side, where there were supply constraints in some regions of the country.

“In response to this challenge, the minister is focusing on measures to improve the availability of egg supply to consumers and simultaneously putting measures in place to contain the spread of the disease,” the statement said.

Several retailers, including Spar and Woolworths have flagged egg shortages. In many Gauteng retail outlets, shelves with egg products remain relatively bare.