Reuters reports that the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has asked the SA government to seek "urgent comment" after a report indicated that thousands of workers in Brazil's meat and poultry sectors were victims of forced labour and inhumane work conditions.  

The report by the Washington-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), released last month, said slave labour in Brazil's poultry sector was "endemic".  SAPA said this needed to be investigated immediately.  The SA government has yet to respond to the request.  SAPA said in a statement:  "Thousands of South African workers have lost their jobs because of dumped chicken imports from countries including Brazil, which has now been exposed as a country where workers are subject to degrading working conditions and forced labour."  Brazilian poultry companies have denied all allegations of using forced labour.  The poultry business in SA has been fighting against competition from producers in Brazil, the European Union and the United States for several years.

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