The Southern African Poultry Value Chain: Regional Development versus National Imperatives

The document examines the poultry value chain in Southern Africa, noting that while South African vertically integrated firms drive regional activity through investment, a coordinated regional value chain is hindered by scale asymmetries, trade barriers, and a lack of harmonised standards. It highlights specific dynamics in the soybean and maize trade between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and identifies South Africa as the region's lowest-cost chicken producer.

• The development of agribusiness regional value chains (RVCs) in Southern Africa is obstructed by several factors: scale asymmetries between South Africa and other regional nations, trade barriers used for infant industry protection, a lack of harmonisation regarding labelling and standards, and insufficient competition at national and regional levels to drive technology upgrades.
• South African vertically integrated firms lead the regional poultry value chain by investing in other countries and downstream activities, primarily to serve those specific domestic markets because finished poultry imports are generally protected. These firms typically do not export to other countries in the region.
• While small RVCs exist for breeding stock (from South Africa and Zambia) and soybeans and maize (from Zambia to Zimbabwe), the region remains a net importer of chicken and soybean meal. South Africa is the lowest-cost chicken producer due to raw material costs and economies of scale, while Zimbabwe is the highest-cost producer among those studied.
• Zambia has become a net exporter of oilcake and soybean, though prices remain higher than imports from Argentina. Establishing a substantial soybean RVC between Zambian production and South African crushing would require further investment in storage and production.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2017). The Southern African Poultry Value Chain: Regional Development versus National Imperatives. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/the-southern-african-poultry-value-chain-regional-development-versus-national-imperatives/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. The Southern African Poultry Value Chain: Regional Development versus National Imperatives. 2017. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/the-southern-african-poultry-value-chain-regional-development-versus-national-imperatives/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=The Southern African Poultry Value Chain: Regional Development versus National Imperatives |date=18 April 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/the-southern-african-poultry-value-chain-regional-development-versus-national-imperatives/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2017southern, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{The Southern African Poultry Value Chain: Regional Development versus National Imperatives}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/the-southern-african-poultry-value-chain-regional-development-versus-national-imperatives/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }