South Africa has agreed to remove barriers to U.S. poultry, beef and pork, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. The United States threatened at the end of 2015 to revoke duty-free status for agricultural products from South Africa because it blocked U.S. meat. “The true test of our success will be based on the ability of South African consumers to buy American product in local stores,” said Froman. “We will be working to ensure that this final benchmark of entry of poultry is achieved.” Most U.S. poultry products have been blocked from South Africa for 15 years and “unwarranted sanitary requirements” prevent import of other meat, said USDA. “With this renewed access for U.S. red meat and poultry products, U.S. exports to South Africa could generate $75 million of shipments annually.”
The National Chicken Council, representing the broiler chicken industry, said agreement between the nations “effectively finalizes a pact negotiated last June between the U.S. and South African industries to reopen the South African market to bone-in U.S. chicken parts, which have been excluded since 2000.” Under the agreement, an annual quota of 65,000 tonnes of chicken was granted to the United States, with incremental increases to follow each year. The National Pork Producers Council said it understood that some barriers to U.S. pork would remain under the agreement.