Page 3 - AMIE Newsletter August 2024

Note from the CEO
Dear AMIE Members,
We know that you have been operating under immense strain due to logistical and procedural delays in the import process this year. The most significant of these is the delays at the Durban port. The reasons for these delays, amongst other matters, include:
- Inconsistencies in the approach to releasing products and,
- Long lead times in the administration of the paperwork to release the containers.
The implications of these delays weigh heavily on the profitability of your businesses and the meat trade sector in general. Not only does this impact the bottom line and cost-effectiveness of your operations, but the bigger fallout is the ultimate price increases to the affordable high-quality protein. This of course impacts directly on the very same consumer that the government is trying so hard to protect from the high cost of living.
The meat processing sector relies heavily on the meat imports brought into the country by our members. South Africa does not produce enough mechanically deboned meat (MDM) that is used in the manufacturing of processed meat products. These products form the foundation of high-value affordable protein that lower-income South African consumers depend upon. These products include viennas, polony and sausages.
We would like to reassure our members that we are working very hard and closely with the relevant government authorities (DTIC, DALRRD & BMA) towards finding a long-term solution to at least some of the key problems our members experience especially at the Port of Durban.
We encourage our members to engage with us in writing (please email etienne@amiesa.co.za).
This will help us gather the necessary information enabling us to engage better with the government authorities towards finding viable long-lasting solutions on the regulatory aspects of meat imports.
Government acknowledges the important role played by meat imports in the economy and South Africa cannot afford to lose this critical player in the meat value chain. AMIE is also acutely aware of the continued financial strain on South African consumers and continues to work hard to play our role of bringing high-value affordable meat products to support the government in its drive towards affordable food to the consumer.
We continue to engage the government at different levels of the meat value chain. As part of our role in facilitating dialogue, we also reached out to both newly appointed ministers, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (Minister Parks Tau) and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (Minister John Steenhuisen). AMIE’s role remains to work closely with all stakeholders in the value chain, government departments included.
In our ongoing strategy objectives, transformation is a key pillar. As part of the Poultry Masterplan Phase 1, we are proud to convey that we have met our transformation objective of setting up the industry first - the AMIE Academy. The Academy assists HDI traders and industry players with the skills required for this complex meat trade business. We are proud to report that our current cohort is halfway through their 12-month training programme, with much higher than anticipated results. The new applications for 2024/25 have been overwhelmingly positive. We expect the 2024/5 programme to commence in November 2024, after a rigorous selection phase in October. We continue to engage robustly in the export development programme for high-value poultry meat exports.
We would like to reassure members that AMIE remains a recognisable player in the meat value chain and is making traction in the engagements with our critical stakeholders, knowing well that the wheels of government take a while to grind.We believe in the promise of the new Government of National Unity (GNU) and remain ready to play our part.
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