Associations warn of possible meat shortage

The associations are counting the losses after the two-week public violence and looting that ravaged parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. 

The recent cyberattack at Transnet has also affected its import and export operations at Durban port. 

SAMPA CEO Peter Gordon says containers were destroyed and cannot store imported meat. 

"The real problem is that due to the looting and violence in Durban,   40 000 pallets spaces of cold storage were destroyed or damaged to a point where it is not available any longer for imports coming into the country.

"The process meat sector relies heavily on the importation of raw materials for the processing and manufacturing of processed meat.

"There is no way to go to clear the stock and also stock that were in those cold storage facilities had to be destroyed because it is now being without cold refrigeration since the looting occurred." 

Government has been asked to intervene with plans to assist the sector. 

"The consequences is that many of our members have run out of raw materials, and they can no longer produce, and factories are closing," adds Gordon. 

"We have reached out to Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to urgently come up with a plan or resolution as to how are they going to deal with the lack of refrigeration capacity in Durban, how can they speed up the processing of inbound containers and we even put proposals to them that we think we have solution." 

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