Chicken prices have come down, says SA Poultry Association
The South African Poultry Association says there was a drop in the price of chicken products in January.
A new strain of bird flu called H7N6, which spread through Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Free State last year, sent prices soaring.
Alongside the more common H5N1 strain, it led to the death of more than four million chickens, resulting in billions of rands in lost revenue.
This led to some farms being placed under quarantine, and a bad on the movement of chickens and eggs.
"The buildup to December is that the prices increased by 5.4%, and that is quite low," said SAPA CEO Izaak Breitenbach.
"That is what normally happens during September and December. If you look at the prices now, the prices of chicken have dropped in January.
"We have had no shortage of chicken at all in the buildup from September to December. Therefore, this had no impact on the price of chicken".
Breitenbach hopes the bird flu vaccine will be approved by the Department of Agriculture by the end of February.
"The way forward is that we hope that the H7 vaccine will be approved by the end of February. One big company has already applied for the vaccination, and I think after February, we will see a lot more companies applying for vaccination," he added.
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