A cattle herder separates Nguni cow and calves. Picture: SOWETAN
This has seen neighbouring countries closing their borders. Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, eSwatini and Mozambique announced a ban on SA meat imports pending the containment of the disease. According to Van Reenen the rest of the year looks set to continue to be challenging for cattle farmers. The Agriculture Business Chamber , an organisation that represents commercial farmers and agribusiness, recently said in a market update that SA’s meat price inflation could remain subdued in 2019 as a ban in exports could increase local supplies.
However, while good progress has been made, more needs to be done to ensure that the trade volumes from beef exports increase to the volumes seen before the outbreak disease, said Van Reenen.