As South Africa prepares to resume poultry imports from Brazil, food importer Merlog Foods has raised concerns over potential delays at the border due to the continued reliance on paper-based veterinary certificates and has called on authorities to shift to a fully electronic verification system.

The company is urging the Border Management Authority (BMA) to begin using Brazil’s online veterinary portal to verify health certificates, warning that waiting for paper originals to arrive is causing week-long hold-ups and directly impacting food affordability.

“After months of disruption to poultry imports, we urge the Border Management Authority to align port inspection procedures with modern, technologically based practices,” said Merlog Foods manager Georg Southey in a statement on Wednesday.

“Formalising the use of electronic verification systems would streamline trade while maintaining food safety and compliance.”

South Africa recently lifted a ban on Brazilian poultry imports imposed earlier this year following a single case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) detected in one state in Brazil.

Trade is set to resume from the week of August 18, with volumes expected to gradually increase over the next few months.

While the Department of Agriculture and the BMA already have access to Brazil’s secure online portal for verifying veterinary health certificates, the current protocol still requires that paper originals be physically shipped and received before the poultry can be released for sale.

This process, according to Merlog Foods, delays distribution by seven to 10 days — even in cases where the shipment has been digitally pre-cleared.

“The continued requirement for original paper-based veterinary health certificates, despite their delayed issuance and delivery, creates a bottleneck in the supply chain,” said Southey.

He noted that South African authorities had accepted the same digital system during the Covid-19 pandemic and urged them to formalise its use once again to reduce red tape and support food security.

He added that delays are especially concerning given the country’s ongoing battle with high food prices.

Merlog Foods said that one of the main poultry imports from Brazil, mechanically deboned meat (MDM), is a vital raw material in the production of processed protein products such as polony and viennas, which are widely consumed by lower-income households and used in government school feeding schemes.

“MDM is a critical input for the manufacture of affordable processed protein products. Delays in releasing MDM into the market directly impact food affordability, with an estimated 100 million meals lost per week of delay,” Southey said.

In addition to electronic verification, Merlog Foods has called on the Department of Agriculture to prioritise finalising a regionalisation protocol with Brazil.

Such an agreement would allow South Africa to continue importing from unaffected provinces in the event of a future bird flu outbreak, instead of triggering a blanket nationwide ban.

“It is important that a regionalisation protocol with Brazil is concluded without delay,” said Southey. “If another case of bird flu arises in the future and no agreement is in place, the entire country could once again face a blanket ban. This would force us to experience unnecessary disruptions again.”

Responding to the concerns, Deputy Director-General for Agricultural Production, Biosecurity and Natural Resources Management, Dipepeneneng Serage, said the government’s primary responsibility is to uphold biosecurity and food safety standards.

“These regulations are not contingent on the commercial interests of Merlog Foods, which is focused on the sale of poultry products and profitability,” Serage said. “Therefore, we will not compromise biosecurity procedures, as both government and corporate interests align on the importance of food safety and biosecurity.”

The company said it remained committed to working with the Department of Agriculture and the BMA to implement regulatory improvements that protect food safety while ensuring supply chain efficiency.

“South Africa cannot afford any more delays,” Southey said.

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za

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