Meat imports held up as festive season approaches

Thanks to bureaucratic bungling that could push prices up and put some importers out of business.

A year ago, scores of ships were lying at anchor off the coast of Durban, sometimes waiting weeks to be offloaded.

This was because Transnet Ports was unable to handle the festive season rush, with a bit of bad weather thrown into the mix.

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Read: Durban port congestion headache [Nov 2023]

This year, meat imports are being held up, but for entirely different reasons.

The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (Amie), representing 36 importers and 34 associate members on the meat value chain, says meat import removal permits that used to take 48 hours now take eight to nine days.

That means importers are paying more for storage and demurrage (the cost of delays charged by ship owners). These costs will likely be passed on to consumers.

One company reportedly paid R325 000 in demurrage charges over just two weeks, a massive spike from a previously zero base.

Read: From boerie to broke: R2 160 for a Saturday afternoon braai

For smaller importers, these additional charges could prove crippling.

What’s behind the delays?

The delays are due to revised requirements introduced by the Border Management Agency (BMA) at the start of the year, whereby veterinary inspectors must be present when the seal on containers is broken on between 35% and 45% of containers prior to the requisite samples being taken by the authorities, says Amie.

What happens in practice is that South African Police Service (SAPS) members stop trucks between the port and their destination and break the container seals to inspect the imported goods, only for veterinary inspectors to reject those same goods because they find the seals already broken.

Some importers are having all their containers inspected, others 50%, and some zero, says Imameleng Mothebe, CEO of Amie.

“It’s the lack of consistency and a proper risk assessment that worries us. But the consequences are dire. The festive season is approaching, and meat imports are expected to increase. This means the problem is only going to get worse as we get closer to December.”

Listen/read: Have you noticed higher food prices?

The knock-on effect is troubling for affordable protein products like polony, viennas, and sausages, which rely on inputs from raw meat imports.

Amie says any further delays in processing these imports will have a direct impact on consumers, particularly those in low-income communities.

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Rationale for border agency thrown out the window

The rationale for introducing the BMA in April 2023 was to sweep aside the need for seven other agencies and departments that previously maintained a presence at the borders and replace them with one. 

Based on Amie’s claims, that rationale seems to have been thrown out the window. The SAPS is allowed to break container seals, while government veterinary inspectors – seeing the broken seals – reject the goods entirely. The delays in receiving meat removal permits expose gaps between key agencies involved in the regulatory chain, specifically SAPS and BMA.

Read: Important findings on the flow of goods across SA’s borders

The matter has already been litigated in the Pretoria High Court, which decided in March 2024 that BMA was allowed to introduce its revised inspection measures, meaning meat removal permits may only be issued on condition that the veterinary seals on consignments are only broken “in the presence of an authorised [BMA] veterinary inspector, based on a risk assessment criteria determined by the [BMA]”.

Amie says the ruling, and specifically the risk assessment, is not being applied consistently. It is planning to approach the court a second time to have it enforced.

“Government regulations undoubtedly play a vital role in ensuring the food sector operates fairly and sustainably, while safeguarding public health,” it says.

“However, when implemented without the necessary capacity to handle the regulatory burden, these measures can have disastrous unintended consequences.

“Implementing sweeping changes without increasing inspection capacity or conducting a proper risk assessment is having severe consequences for trade and food security.”

Mothebe points out: “There is also currently no clear or consistent policy or standards that are being applied across the country’s ports, which is deeply problematic.

“South Africa’s ports must function properly if the country is to maintain both its import and export sectors. Every delay in getting goods through the ports means another delay in putting food on the tables of South Africans – a delay that many simply cannot afford.”

Read: Retailers slow to pass on price cuts despite decline in producer costs

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