LETTER: Beef is back
Loading player...
Bekezela Phakathi correctly points out that some subsectors of SA agriculture are not in good shape, but he misses the point by highlighting the beef industry as one of these (“Beef industry faces uncertain future (”, August 25).
It is true that when the country was in lockdown levels 5 and 4, reduced demand due to closure of restaurants weighed on the beef industry. But this was somewhat resolved as the economy started to reopen.
The author correctly points out that SA’s beef industry went through a tough period as a result of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2019, which led to a temporary suspension of imports of SA beef by some countries. I wrote an article on this at the time, pointing out that the value of SA’s beef exports was close to $140m and I too was worried that the outbreak would weigh on SA’s agricultural trade. Yet the outcome was different — SA can now export beef even to markets that had previously placed a ban.
The author writes that “foot-and-mouth disease can also infect people through skin wounds or the mucous membranes in the mouth after handling infected meat and milk”. However, there is no conclusive evidence of this. The government recently pointed out that the disease “is not contagious to humans and the meat from animals that have recovered from the disease is safe for human consumption”.
Wandile Sihlobo
Agricultural Business Chamber of SA
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
It is true that when the country was in lockdown levels 5 and 4, reduced demand due to closure of restaurants weighed on the beef industry. But this was somewhat resolved as the economy started to reopen.
The author correctly points out that SA’s beef industry went through a tough period as a result of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2019, which led to a temporary suspension of imports of SA beef by some countries. I wrote an article on this at the time, pointing out that the value of SA’s beef exports was close to $140m and I too was worried that the outbreak would weigh on SA’s agricultural trade. Yet the outcome was different — SA can now export beef even to markets that had previously placed a ban.
The author writes that “foot-and-mouth disease can also infect people through skin wounds or the mucous membranes in the mouth after handling infected meat and milk”. However, there is no conclusive evidence of this. The government recently pointed out that the disease “is not contagious to humans and the meat from animals that have recovered from the disease is safe for human consumption”.
Wandile Sihlobo
Agricultural Business Chamber of SA
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
