Listeriosis: ban affects small percentage of exports
The outbreak has, in terms of exports tariffs, affected sausages and processed and preserved meats.
THE recent Listeriosis outbreak in South Africa has led to several countries banning exports of affected products from SA. But according to Niki Kruger, the Chief Director for Trade Negotiations at the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), overall, the bans by the said countries represents a small percentage of South Africa’s overall exports.
Kruger said this when appearing before the Joint Meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Portfolio Committee on Health on Wednesday on the Listeriosis outbreak and the recall of certain products.
Kruger said the outbreak has, in terms of exports tariffs, affected products classified under Chapter 16 – which is sausages (16:01) and processed and preserved meats (16:02).
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“The message overall is that there is a very small percentage of our exports that are affected currently. The biggest risk for us is the impact in terms of the perception of South African exports in regard to this,” she said.
Kruger said over the past two years, when it comes to sausages, South Africa has been exporting products amounting to $18 million (R210 million) on average.
SA’s top export destinations for sausages were Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia and the Seychelles.
“What we have been informed so far in terms of countries that have put a ban on these products are Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Seychelles, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Kenya.
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“If you look at in terms of the exports over the past two years, the value of the exports that has been affected is about $8 million (R100 million). But if you look at our exports to the world in total the exports that have been affected is 0.01%. It is a very small percentage of our total exports.”
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