Bird flu outbreak in Oudtshoorn wont result in economic devastation

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Roleplayers within the South African ostrich industry are confident the detection of a new bird flu strain on a farm near Oudtshoorn will not result in the economic devastation that followed the avian flu outbreak in 2011.

Earlier this week Western Cape agriculture MEC Gerrit van Rensburg announced that a H7N1 virus was discovered at the farm, and that the pathogenicity of this virus was as yet unknown.

The department had started an "intensive epidemiological investigation" and had prohibited movement of ostriches and their products with three kilometres of the farm.
In 2011, the European Union placed an export ban - that remains in place - on South African ostrich meat following an outbreak of the A1 strain.

This has accounted for more than 50% of ostrich farmers leaving the R2-billion a year industry.
Before the ban, the Klein Karoo region was producing about 170 000 slaughter birds per annum, which represented about 70 percent of ostrich meat consumption worldwide, most of it for the EU.

However Oudtshoorn-based Klein Karoo International (KKI), the world's largest supplier of ostrich products, downplayed the impact the discovery of the new strain would have on the industry.

KKI managing director Johan Stumpf said there was a high probability that "quick professional and scientifically exact action" by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) contained the virus to a specific farm.
"The industry is therefore not in the disarray that followed the 2011 avian flu outbreak," he said.

The 2011 outbreak resulted in the culling of 50 000 ostriches, causing slaughter numbers to drop by some 35%. Last year saw a further decrease of 10% and a 20% to 30% contraction of around the current 165 000 slaughter population is anticipated for this year.

In an attempt to correct the ostrich population KKI all but removed the market risk for slaughter ostrich production for the 2013/14 slaughter season. KKI developed a high quality heat-treated product which had been well received in Europe.
This developing market allowed KKI to offer producers an advance supply contract from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 at a minimum guaranteed price.

The minimum guaranteed price consists of an advanced leather and meat price table linked to the exchange rate. Although producers retain an exchange risk, they have no market risk, and they automatically benefit from a weak rand.

Veteran Oudtshoorn ostrich farmer and member of the SA Ostrich Business Chamber Johann Koegelenberg said he believed a number of lessons had been learnt since the 2011 outbreak and did not expect there to be any great fallout because of the new virus.

"But you can also never guarantee that, because just like human flu avian flu can occur at any time," he said.

"These days there are much better methods being used to trace the virus early enough. The quarantine area has also been limited to a 3km radius, whereas last time there was a 10km area and so many more farmers were affected."

Before the ban, the Klein Karoo region was producing about 170 000 slaughter birds per annum, which represented about 70% of ostrich meat consumption worldwide, most of it for the EU.

While the EU is the biggest buyer of ostrich meat from South Africa, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil imports 15 tons of ostrich feathers for the city's annual carnival. With South Africa being the major exporter, demand for the plumes has increased significantly, as have the prices.

John Harvey