According to the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform, there is no need for citizens to panic buy for the festive season as eggs and poultry stocks are steadily replenishing.

In a media statement, the department declared that the viral outbreak is under control and that 70 per cent of poultry farms remain unaffected, “Since the egg production cycle is not too long, we expect the situation to normalise early next year. We will continue to import more eggs should the situation not improve,” Minister Thoko Didiza said.

In preparation for the festive season, the department has imported the following:

• Fertilised eggs – 9 million
• Day-old chicks – 37 802 tons
• Egg products – 62 metric tons
• Poultry meat – 30 986 metric tons.

“We have increased fertilised eggs from 1.9 million to 9 million in less than one month. These eggs will be chickens in less than four months,” Minister Didiza reassured.

The statement further read that it has a few open import permits for eggs and poultry products from a few countries.

The import of table eggs, fertilised eggs, pasteurised eggs, egg powder and liquid eggs has been ongoing for many years in South Africa and has not only started with the current outbreak of the HPAI.

Other countries, including Brazil, USA and Argentina, have been exporting eggs to South Africa for quite some time, and the department is currently processing import permit applications from a few more countries.

“The department does not dictate which countries should make business sense for South African retailers to import eggs from, it only ensures that biosecurity risk assessments are conducted when importers apply for import permits,” the statement concluded.