Egg shortages and price increases expected
Bird flu could lead to higher egg and chicken prices
THE outbreak of bird flu could mean South Africa will have to import eggs soon.
The disease has already wiped out more than 15% of South Africa’s layer hens, with the prospect of hefty price increases owing to the resultant shortage in table eggs.
According to Dr Charlotte Nkuna, interim CEO of the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), the estimate is that more than four million chickens have been or are in the process of being culled.
‘This includes almost four million layers, 360 000 broiler breeders and just more than 31 000 layer breeders,’ she said.
The layer flock stood at about 24 million before the outbreak of bird flu.
Nkuna said more than 23 commercial farms have already been affected.
According to agricultural economist, Prof Johan Willemse, the shortage of table eggs could lift prices by 15% to 20%.
‘Furthermore, as things stand, it can take anything from one to two years for the layer flock to return to the levels they were at before the bird flu outbreak, which means a prolonged shortage of eggs,’ Willemse said.
Nkuna said the recovery depends on how quickly the chicken farmers are willing to risk repopulating.
‘We anticipate that it will take an average of six months for the farms to be repopulated, some perhaps sooner and others preferring to wait a bit longer.
‘This also depends on the available funds to buy replacement stocks.’
Some suppliers are considering importing table eggs, but the cost of air transport makes it uneconomical.
‘If the cheaper option of sea freight is considered, the transport time will make it very difficult to get the eggs to South Africa within the prescribed shelf life.’
Willemse said imports are problematic because of eggs being such fragile produce.
First discovered in June
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 in chickens was detected in South Africa for the first time in late June in Mpumalanga, but has since spread to the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and the Eastern Cape.
Liana Steenkamp of agricultural group Laeveld Agrochem, said the H5N8 strain, which is usually spread by wild birds, does not pose a direct threat to humans.
Steenkamp added that the producers of chicken and eggs have had a torrid time in recent years.
‘First we had higher feed prices the last two seasons because of the drought, followed by the increased import of chicken.
‘And now the devastating impact of the highly contagious H5N8 bird flu.’
According to Steenkamp, the virus will also have a negative impact on the animal feed sector.
Based on figures from the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association, almost 65% of last year’s animal feed sales went to the poultry industry.
The mass culling of laying hens will also affect South Africa’s export of table eggs to neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Direct job losses owing to the bird flu have already risen above 1 000, with further losses expected in secondary sectors.
Cleanliness
The problem for farmers is that cleaning can be enormously time consuming and expensive and can take the focus away from other key farming functions.
But the good news is that there’s a new generation of cleaning technology designed to tackle precisely these kinds of problems effectively and efficiently.
Gavin Herold, General Manager of Africa and the Middle East for Nilfisk, one of the world’s leading suppliers of cleaning equipment, says there are now solutions for every industry need in indoor and outdoor spaces.
As an example, the MH series of hot water pressure washers can clean up to 210 bars at 90 ° Celcius.
They are effective with water or can be used with a disinfectant, and are suitable for cleaning of protein rich materials such as animal waste.
Herold says the equipment is designed to operate with optimal mobility in every farm space, with options for uneven surfaces and tight areas, and useful features such as eye-level fuel monitoring, turntable hooks and quick service access.
‘They have improved efficiency and durability and lead to a significant increase in cleaning productivity’.
Herold emphasises that these machines are built for farming purposes; ‘they’re powerful, robust, manoeuvrable and environmentally friendly’.
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