A Profile of the South African Beef Market Value Chain

This fact sheet provides a quantitative overview of the South African beef industry, detailing production distribution, supply chain integration, and international trade patterns including key import and export partners.

• South Africa's beef production is split between commercial and emerging/communal farmers, with approximately 50,000 commercial farmers producing 60% of cattle and 240,000 emerging and 3 million communal farmers producing the remaining 40%. The industry utilizes roughly 500 abattoirs to slaughter 2.3 million cattle annually.
• South Africa is a net importer of beef, importing 7 million kilograms and exporting 4.4 million kilograms, with a per capita consumption of approximately 15.70 kg across 48.6 million consumers. While imports dropped 36% between 2012 and 2013—likely due to the Global Economic Downturn and Foot in Mouth Disease—the country maintains a 40% MFN tariff on major importers.
• In 2013, Australia was the primary source of beef imports at 64%, while Africa was the primary export destination, led by Mozambique at 46%. High-growth demand for South African beef was noted in Kuwait (294% annual growth) and the UAE (194% annual growth), while Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo were identified as attractive markets for frozen beef.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2016). A Profile of the South African Beef Market Value Chain. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/a-profile-of-the-south-african-beef-market-value-chain/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. A Profile of the South African Beef Market Value Chain. 2016. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/a-profile-of-the-south-african-beef-market-value-chain/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=A Profile of the South African Beef Market Value Chain |date=2 June 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/a-profile-of-the-south-african-beef-market-value-chain/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2016profile, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{A Profile of the South African Beef Market Value Chain}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/a-profile-of-the-south-african-beef-market-value-chain/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }