Stakeholders in the South African egg industry have urged the government to ensure that egg importation into the country is reduced.
Willie Bosoga, Chairperson of South Africa Poultry Association’s (SAPA) Egg Board has stated the need for the scaling down of egg importation into the country since local production of eggs has increased substantially while also noting that the country has imported R8.6 million worth of eggs between June-September 2018.
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He attributed the importation drive to the 2017 avian influenza outbreak in South Africa which resulted in the loss of 20% of the national egg-laying birds. Eggs are mainly imported from Brazil.
According to the South African Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fishery, egg consumption remains an important economic source of animal protein and the fourth animal protein production in the country.
The story is similar in Nigeria, where despite an increase in production of eggs, local production is yet to meet domestic demands and in 2000, more than 730 million eggs were imported.
Whereas egg remains on the prohibition list, the Federal Government in 2016 reported that more than 5 million eggs are imported daily into Nigeria.
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