LETTER: Globalisation chickens roosting

01 February 2017 - 09:04 By Ted O' Connor
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File photo.
File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/iStockphoto

South Africa's poultry industry looks as though it is poised to collapse because of our free-trade policy, but there are many other reasons, not least a poorly motivated workforce, hostile unions and high input costs.

The Agoa agreement with the US finds us bound to accept chicken pieces from them in exchange for favourable markets for our motor industry, yet US poultry exports to us amount to only 12% of the total.

Some 88% comes from the EU and Brazil. Unless we have beneficial agreements with them, surely their imports could be curtailed drastically, giving us breathing space as our industry is realigned.

Emerging countries are at the mercy of industrialised nations that often use Africa as a dumping ground for their surplus production. Our textile industry is an example of this as we become a consumer society at the expense of our industrial manufacturing capacity.

The ANC has allowed our status to decline because of a poor understanding of globalisation; fresh minds are needed to rescue us.

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