For a decade leading up to 2019, South Africa’s poultry industry was in distress. Year after year, production declined while imports continued to grow, placing immense pressure on local producers and threatening one of agriculture’s most important value chains.
The consequences reached far beyond poultry farms. As local production contracted, grain consumption declined, investment dried up, employment opportunities disappeared, and the industry’s contribution to the broader economy weakened. An industry that plays a critical role in supplying affordable protein to millions of South Africans found itself unable to generate sufficient returns to reinvest in its own future.
The need for decisive intervention had become undeniable.
A turning point
In November 2019, the first Poultry Masterplan was signed, bringing together government and industry in an unprecedented partnership to reverse the decline.
The masterplan identified the rapid growth of dumped poultry imports from at least ten countries as the principal cause of the industry’s deterioration. Rather than focusing on a single solution, it adopted a comprehensive strategy built around five pillars:
- Infrastructure and empowerment
- Growing the local market
- Export development
- Food safety
- Trade measures
Importantly, these pillars were designed not only to restore the competitiveness of local producers but also to advance transformation through black economic empowerment while ensuring that consumers continued to have access to affordable chicken products.
Five years of rebuilding
The period from 2019 to 2025 became one of the most significant rebuilding phases in the history of the South African poultry industry.
Industry participants invested more than R2,1 billion in infrastructure, enabling production capacity to expand substantially. Weekly slaughter numbers increased from 19,7 million birds to 22 million birds, representing approximately a 10% growth over five years.
Transformation also accelerated. Twenty-two new black contract growers entered the industry, while a black-owned hatchery capable of producing 200 000 chicks per week was established. Investment in farming operations alone exceeded R1 billion, creating approximately 2 660 new jobs.
The industry demonstrated remarkable resilience despite the devastating outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) during 2023. Although the outbreak severely disrupted production, growth resumed as producers strengthened biosecurity measures and renewed their focus on both domestic and export markets.
Progress was also made in improving food safety and import traceability, addressing weaknesses that had existed within the monitoring of imported poultry products.
Perhaps most significantly, nine anti-dumping measures were implemented during the five-year period, helping to establish a more balanced and equitable competitive environment for domestic producers.
An industry transformed
By 2025, the transformation was evident.
Poultry had regained its position as South Africa’s largest agricultural industry and reaffirmed its role as the country’s leading animal production industry.
Industry turnover increased dramatically from approximately R47 billion in 2019 to R74 billion by 2026, reflecting renewed investment, higher production, and stronger market performance.
The benefits extended well beyond poultry production. As the single largest consumer of grain in South Africa, the poultry industry now consumes nearly 60% of the country’s maize production and approximately 90% of its soybean production. Every increase in poultry production stimulates demand throughout the grain value chain, supporting producers, feed manufacturers, transport companies, retailers, and numerous related industries.
The industry’s recovery therefore represents far more than the success of one part of the agricultural sector – it has become an important contributor to broader economic growth and rural development.
The next chapter
Building on the achievements of the first masterplan, the second Poultry Masterplan was signed in 2026 with an ambitious vision for continued expansion and competitiveness.
The new strategy focuses on several key priorities, such as:
- increasing domestic poultry consumption through coordinated public relations and consumer communication campaigns;
- expanding exports, initially targeting the United Kingdom, the European Union and Saudi Arabia before entering additional international markets;
- vaccinating at least 70% of long-living poultry to minimise the risk of another devastating avian influenza outbreak;
- maintaining trade measures that have helped create a more level international playing field; and
- reviewing preferential market access for poultry imports from the United States to ensure fair competition for local producers.
A shared opportunity
The success of the poultry industry is inseparable from the success of South Africa’s grain industry.
As poultry production grows, demand for maize and soybeans follows. Increased grain production supports feed manufacturing, while affordable feed enables poultry producers to remain internationally competitive. Today, South Africa is regarded as one of the world’s most competitive poultry producers, with only Brazil consistently producing chicken at a lower cost.
This interdependence highlights the importance of continued collaboration across the agricultural value chain.
The next phase of growth will depend on expanding consumer demand while maintaining the industry’s long-standing commitment to providing affordable chicken to South African households. Greater domestic consumption will create the production capacity needed to stimulate further investment, create more employment, increase grain demand, and strengthen South Africa’s food security.
The first Poultry Masterplan demonstrated what can be achieved when industry and government work together towards a common objective. The second masterplan now provides the platform to build on that success, ensuring that the poultry industry continues to drive growth not only for itself, but for the entire agricultural economy.
If the ambitions of the 2026 masterplan are realised, South Africa’s poultry industry will not merely remain the country’s largest agricultural industry – it will become one of its most important engines of economic growth.
