Reuters reports that industry experts said on Wednesday that commercial egg production in SA has tumbled 17% and over 1,000 workers have lost their jobs in the wake of an outbreak of avian flu in June.  

Commercial egg production per day dropped to 17 million from 20.4 million after an outbreak of the H5N8 virus, the SA Poultry Association’s (Sapa’s) acting CEO Charlotte Nkuna said.  “We used to have about 24 million hens, and now we have just under 20 million or so,” Nkuna told Reuters and added that the industry has seen 1,000 to 1,500 lay-offs as a result of avian flu between June and September.  The Western Cape, which is second largest egg producer and which has been grappling with a severe drought, was the hardest hit by the virus, Nkuna said.  The impact of the virus on the poultry industry also poses a risk for food price inflation.

• Read this report by Tanisha Heiberg in full at Moneyweb
• See too, SA Poultry Association says avian flu has hit egg production, with over 1,000 jobs lost, at EWN

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page