The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) has sent a stark warning to South African consumers who want their favourite meat items this Christmas.
The association said that new requirements by the Border Management Agency (BMA) have caused delays in the issuance of meat import removal permits, which has now seen major delays in a process which used to take two days, now taking up to 9 days.
The association is warning that the BMA caused process delays could wreak havoc on South Africa's meat supply during the Christmas period, and could lead to the sharp price increase on most meat products.
Members of AMIE are calling on government to intervene and help fix the delays at SA’s ports.
The main cause of the delays is more stringent inspection regulations, according to AMIE.
In order to avoid more financial damage to South African economy and food supply chain, the association is calling for immediate intervention from the BMA.
AMIE said that government needs to implement more inspectors and if they cannot increase capacity then they they should just revert to the previous system until more resources are available to handle the increased workload.
AMIE’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Imameleng Mothebe said that the new import regulations introduced at the beginning of the year are placing further strain on SA’s already congested ports.
She thinks the new measures are not important but called on government to implement these regulations with enough capacity to have them streamlined.
"Government regulations undoubtedly play a vital role in ensuring the food sector operates fairly and sustainably, while safeguarding public health. However, when implemented without the necessary capacity to handle the regulatory burden, these measures can have disastrous unintended consequences,“ she explained.
“Implementing sweeping changes without increasing inspection capacity or conducting a proper risk assessment is having severe consequences for trade and food security. There is also currently no clear or consistent policy or standards that are being applied across the country’s ports, which is deeply problematic,” Mothebe added.
AMIE said that it recommended either increasing the capacity for inspections or reverting to the previous system until adequate resources are in place to handle the increased workload.
How is this impacting the businesses?
These delays are have a major financial impact on businesses.
AMIE said due to these delays, food import companies are now forced to cover exorbitant demurrage and container storage costs.
The association noted that one company reported paying R325,000 in demurrage charges over just two weeks, and this was a massive spike from a previously zero base.
This could be crippling for smaller importers who cannot afford these additional charges.
How will this impact you
Most South Africans are already thinking about the Christmas/festive season and additionally, this is a critical time for businesses in terms of trade.
Delays at major ports, particularly Durban will have a disastrous impact on consumers and will undoubtedly create higher costs on meat items and contribute to food inflation.
The meat association have futher added that this crisis could not have come at a worse time, with the festive season demand rising and food inflation already squeezing South African households.
AMIE explained that the knock-on effect is especially worrisome for affordable protein products like polony, viennas, and sausages, which rely on inputs from raw meat imports.
The association emphasised that more delays in processing these imports will have a direct impact on consumers, particularly those in low-income communities.
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