(Ecofin Agency) - In South Africa, demand for processed meat dropped by 75% due to a listeriosis outbreak which hit the country, the Department of Trade and Industry revealed June 8 in a preliminary study.

The organization pointed out that the pork industry which is the most affected has seen demand for cold meat decline by 50% and profit dropped by 40%. According to Bloomberg which relayed information from pork producers’ organization, two meat processing plants and a slaughterhouse have already closed down.

This outbreak hinders pork industry’s growth outlook for this year. Experts said the industry should however leverage the significant increase in corn output that would lower animal food costs and improve meat production profitability. Moreover, pork meat demand is expected to grow driven by an increase in beef and lamb meat costs.

The giant Tiger Brands reported it has already incinerated 4,000 tons of products and planned to shut down the factory where the outbreak spread from, for the rest of the year.

Let’s recall that pork is the third-largest consumed meat in South Africa after poultry and beef. The US Department of Agriculture revealed that in 2017, the country produced 250,000 tons of pork meat.

Espoir Olodo