PROTECT THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

PROTECT THE POULTRY INDUSTRY,

Published by the Sunday News, ‘Livestock Markets by Muhle M. Masuku’

06/11/11

It is not possible to totally prevent imports within the framework of a free market system and our own trade laws, but surely, efforts to protect local industries and farmers should be stepped up. As local production engages a gear up in preparation for the Christmas holiday, a traditional peak period for chicken consumption in Zimbabwe, all hell has broken loose. The suspiciously cheap chicken and sausage products from who knows where are back with a bang.

Enterprising people have flooded the high density suburbs with the cheap imports. They can be seen trekking from Kelvin and Thorn-grove industrial sites carrying the unmistakable brown boxes purported to be from Brazil or Chile.

Surely we can not be hoping to get super grade from imports but the worst of those countries. Sunday News, 9^th January, 2011 reported that Blade Nzimande leader of the South African Communist party said, “the poultry industry was selling rotten meat to black people…we find this deeply offensive and racist.” He said chicken past its best-before date was being recycled – thawed, washed and injected with flavouring- then sold to shops in the black townships. We are not immune to this malpractice; we are neither yellow nor pink but very black and therefore painted with the same brush. That outburst provided a momentary reprieve for our industry, but the greed in our importing businessmen is greater than human safety. Ngabantu kumbe zinyamazana?

The influence that low priced imports has on our livestock production and price of meat (poultry, mutton, pork, goat and beef etc) is far reaching and long lasting to the livestock industry. It is not surprising to see Zimbabwecurrently a marginal importer becoming a net importer of meat when local farmers have called it a day.

As a political ideology neo-liberalism, prescribed as economic structural adjustment programs (now conveniently termed globalization) to the third world believes in the supremacy of the market and the safeguarding of the right of a minority to the unfettered accumulation of profits at the highest rate possible with total disregard of a country’s citizenry. Deregulation, was the first step that ensured free entry of some obscene products such as the chemically injected chickens from South Africa.

Politics is indeed a dirty game; we have taken the land to produce on one hand and are killing the market on the other by allowing our erstwhile nemesis to take advantage of our ailing industry. At what price? I wonder. Clearly, this is a long term strategy of first world governments to reduce us to consumptive economies. Look east or west, statistics show the same shrewdness; wolves in sheep’s clothing.

As the example shows, multinationals will stop at nothing to subvert third world economies. According to the South African Dairymail volume 18 of May, 2011, “A consignment of condensed milk from the Isle of Man to South Africa typically comes from China via this unlikely milk producing island. This is but one such example of trade routes masking the country of origin. The under declaration of goods (saying it is one thing, when it is another) or substandard goods (not complying with local food quality and safety laws), as well as incorrect labeling... and currently, import tariffs form the only buffer between our market and legal imports, albeit at a very low price (compared to world price trends)”        

Some first world governments such as the European Union and United States of America are pouring money into agricultural subsidies, thus making their farm produce ridiculously low priced. That has a crushing effect on third world countries that can not make it into first world agricultural produce markets and are reduced to dumping grounds. Those products are not the result of normal market forces but manipulation due to foreign government policy intervention, tantamount to unfair trade practice.

When our production is reduced to zero, we will be seasoned price takers; I can predict a shift in policy as they remove subsidies on their exports so that we get the full brunt of the imported food price increases. It’s a game of chess; they will soon be calling check-mate to our indigenization pursuing but less innovative governments. If we are not careful we will be begging for re-colonisation.

At least there is some action in South Africa where Barbara Bieldt of the Milk producer’s Organisation reported “Of course there are more exciting cases where imported Chinese products are confiscated or illegal cheese traders are busted. These actions against unfair and illegal imports send a clear message to prospective law breakers.”

It is possible that we can stop the rot before local farmers throw in the towel. For Al Capon (the notorious American gangster) it was not a matter of fighting force with force, but it was the taxman that finally stopped his reign of terror. I don’t doubt the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s capabilities at the borders to triumph over these cunning tricksters.  

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