By Moyiga Nduru
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 14 2004 (IPS)

The European Union’s decision this week to extend the ban on ostrich imports from South Africa because of an avian influenza scare in the country has caught the local ostrich sector by surprise, industry representatives say.

Not headed for Europe any time soon. (Photo: Henner Frankenfeld) Credit: PictureNET Africa

On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) said it would continue to ban the import of live ostriches and ostrich eggs and meat until next year. The imports were initially suspended in August, following an outbreak of avian influenza on ostrich farms in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

A statement issued by the EU Wednesday noted that “Because at least six months should pass after destruction of the ratites and disinfection of the infected holdings before the imports of meat of ostriches and their eggs from South Africa can be allowed again, the suspension has now been prolonged until 31 March, 2005.” (“Ratite” is a term used to describe flightless birds.)

According to SAOBC, 13,000 ostriches on five farms in the Middleton area of the Eastern Cape have been culled in a bid to contain the spread of the H5N2 influenza virus – a milder strain of the H5N1 virus that has taken a severe toll on poultry in Asian countries.

The South African government had initially ordered the slaughter of more than 30,000 birds as part of the campaign against avian influenza in the Eastern Cape, where about 1,500 ostriches have already died from H5N2.

“Surveillance of ostriches in the rest of the country is proceeding as scheduled and no new infections were found. Samples were already taken on more than 50 percent of the farms in the country,” says a statement on the SAOBC website.

“As soon as all samples have been tested, and no new infections were found, South Africa can apply that the ban on exports of ostrich meat, live ostriches and hatchable eggs be lifted,” it adds.

However, the chamber’s word on the health of South Africa’s ostriches is not enough to convince the EU to adopt a less rigid stance on the matter of ostrich imports. “The European Union needs a certificate issued by the government of South Africa to clarify the situation,” said Kruger. “It’s a standard procedure.”

In its statement this week, the EU noted that “Although it appears that the disease situation has improved, no official confirmation has been received which would allow the modification of the current restrictions.”

Repeated efforts by IPS to get comment from South Africa’s Department of Agriculture about why such confirmation has not been forthcoming were unsuccessful.

Kruger says the situation amongst ostrich farmers is not entirely without hope, as South Africa’s 600 farmers and 16 processing plants are still permitted to export ostrich leather, feathers and egg shells.

“Ostrich leather is the biggest chunk of our export. Meat is a small part of it,” he notes. “But we would like to resume export as soon as possible.”

The extended EU ban is likely to cost the industry about eight million dollars a month.

“We employ 20,000 people – there may be job losses. But we are trying to find ways to stop the job losses,” Kruger said.

Part of the strategy to alleviate the effects of the ban may involve a bigger effort to market ostrich products domestically.

“South Africans consume about three percent of the total ostrich production (but) we have seen a very sharp rise and expect the demand to (continue rising),” Kruger noted, adding “Ostrich meat is constantly in high demand due to its health qualities.”

Mozambique, Hong Kong and Singapore have joined the EU in banning ostrich imports from South Africa. The country presently supplies about 70 percent of the world’s ostrich meat, producing about 1,000 tonnes a year according to SAOBC.

The H5N1 virus, also able to infect humans, has claimed about thirty lives in Asia since January when an outbreak of the disease began gathering momentum.

While the virus was thought to have been contained after the culling of about 100 million chickens, it re-emerged in Thailand and Vietnam in July. Reports of new cases of avian influenza have also been received from China and Indonesia.

Next month representatives of Asian countries will meet in Thailand to assess how best to stem the spread of the virus, which health experts fear could mutate – allowing it to be transmitted between humans. This might lead to a flu pandemic along the lines of the 1918 outbreak, which claimed up to 40 million lives.

Previously, the virus has only been known to pass from birds to humans, although the first probable case of person-to-person transmission of H5N1 was reported last month in Thailand.

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