South Africa stops charging anti-dumping tariffs on Brazilian chicken

South Africa has opted to suspend the application of anti-dumping tariffs levied on poultry imports from Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, and Spain. The South African Ministry of Trade and Industry announced the decision – which should be kept in force for one year – earlier in the month.

The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) office in Petroria presented the info above. According to the report, the South African government favored the suspension due to the “rapid increase of food processing in the country and the influence of anti-dumping on the price of chicken,” particularly affecting the poorest.

According to the report, the commission investigating the dumping practice found, in January, that “poultry originating in these countries was dumped on the African market” and recommended imposing tariffs on bone-in chicken meat from these origins — including Brazil — for six months.

The rate applied to Brazil from January to June this year was 265%. Before that, the rate was 62%. Denmark, Ireland, Poland, and Spain had free exports to South Africa until the beginning of this year, but Pretoria applied anti-dumping duties of 67.4% on Danish beef, 158.4% on Irish beef, 96.9% on Polish meat, and 85.8% on Spanish.

See below how the main trends in terms of the volume of chicken meat (HS 0207) exported from Brazil to South Africa from January 2021 to Jun 2022. The data below is from DataLiner.

Chicken meat (HS 0207) exports to South Africa | Jan 2021 – Jun 2022 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

South Africa still levies an anti-dumping tariff on bone-in chicken meat imports from Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This year’s rates expire on November 23. According to the USDA assessment, “because of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that inhibits shipments from Europe, Brazil is the only partner that will immediately profit from the suspension of anti-dumping tariffs.”

“We will keep trying to prove our innocence, as the suspension of the application of the tariff does not mean the end of the process, which is somewhat arbitrary from the standpoint of international trade rules,” Rua told Valor at the International Trade Show Poultry and Swine Farming (SIAVS) in São Paulo.

“They kept the accusation and the probe going. We will prove that Brazil does not engage in dumping in South Africa or any of the 150 nations to which we export.”

Rua stated that trade flow to South Africa is steady, despite the hefty tariffs on entering that market. “We aim to sustain the flows and collaborate with South Africa, which is dealing with a significant avian influenza outbreak and high food inflation.”

According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agrostat portal, supplied with official foreign trade data, Brazil exported almost 297,000 tonnes of chicken meat to South Africa in 2021, or US$ 208 million.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article, please go to: https://valor.globo.com/agronegocios/noticia/2022/08/09/frica-do-sul-suspende-tarifa-antidumping-sobre-carne-de-frango-do-brasil.ghtml

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