(3 Minutes Read)
This year, meat imports are being held up, but for entirely different reasons. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (Amie), representing 36 importers and 34 associate members on the meat value chain, says meat import removal permits that used to take 48 hours now take eight to nine days.
Meat imports in South Africa are held up as the festive season approaches due to bureaucratic delays that could push prices up and put some importers out of business. This was because Transnet Ports was unable to handle the festive season rush.
This year, meat imports are being held up, but for entirely different reasons. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (Amie), representing 36 importers and 34 associate members on the meat value chain, says meat import removal permits that used to take 48 hours now take eight to nine days.
That means importers are paying more for storage and demurrage (the cost of delays charged by ship owners). These costs will likely be passed on to consumers. One company reportedly paid R325 000 in demurrage charges over just two weeks, a massive spike from a previously zero base. For smaller importers, these additional charges could prove crippling.
The delays are due to revised requirements introduced by the Border Management Agency (BMA) at the start of the year, whereby veterinary inspectors must be present when the seal on containers is broken on between 35% and 45% of containers before the requisite samples being taken by the authorities, says Amie.
What happens in practice is that South African Police Service (SAPS) members stop trucks between the port and their destination and break the container seals to inspect the imported goods, only for veterinary inspectors to reject those same goods because they find the seals already broken. Some importers are having all their containers inspected, others 50%, and some zero, says Imameleng Mothebe, CEO of Amie.
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The matter has already been litigated in the Pretoria High Court, which decided in March 2024 that BMA was allowed to introduce its revised inspection measures, meaning meat removal permits may only be issued on condition that the veterinary seals on consignments are only broken in the presence of an authorized [BMA] veterinary inspector, based on a risk assessment criteria determined by the [BMA].
