South Africa

South Africa Receives 2 Million FMD Vaccine Doses to Combat Worst Outbreak in Years

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:14:18 GMT

As authorities intensify efforts to contain the South Africa’s worst foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in years, its government announced on Wednesday that it received 2 million doses of FMD vaccine from Turkey.

The vaccine, supplied by Turkey’s Dollvet, will be distributed to provinces in the coming days based on animal population and risk, Reuters reports . An additional 4 million doses have also been ordered from Dollvet.

The government hopes to vaccinate 80% of South Africa’s national cattle herd, estimated at about 14 million. It also plans to allocate some vaccine doses to the pork industry.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease on the Rise

Reuters reports South Africa’s government has faced criticism from livestock farmers, who say they are suffering heavy losses over its handling of the outbreak, with some threatening legal action. In February, South Africa rolled out its first FMD vaccine in 20 years to ease a shortage of inoculation doses.

An additional 5 million vaccine doses have been ordered from Argentina, the article says, with delivery expected in two batches once import approval is granted by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.

Recent reports of the emergence and spread of the FMD SAT1 serotype are highlighting a concerning shift in the global landscape of this virus.

“For FMD virus, immunity is serotype-specific, meaning infection or vaccination against a given serotype does not confer protection against a different serotype,” says Dr. Sol Perez at the University of Minnesota in a recent Farm Journal’s PORK article .

The Challenge of Controlling FMD

FMD is severe, fast-spreading viral disease that primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals, including cows, pigs, sheep, goats and deer. According to USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service , FMD is one of the most challenging animal diseases to control. Although most infected animals survive, they’re left weak and unable to produce the level of meat and milk prior to infection. FMD is not a human health or food safety threat.

FMD was first discovered in the U.S. in 1870 and eradicated in 1929. The U.S. does not have FMD at this time.

Learn More Here:
Global Expansion of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Serotype SAT1 Raises Alarms
Foot-and-Mouth Disease or Senecavirus A? Why Swine Producers Can’t Afford a Mix-Up

South Africa Drought Destroys 5% of Cattle, Pork-Breeding Stock

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 03:29:26 GMT

South Africa’s driest weather in more than a century has destroyed more than 5 percent of the nation’s cattle and pork-breeding herds, fueling food prices and hitting jobs, lawmakers heard on Tuesday.

The beef headcount was 13 million before the drought, Pieter Prinsloo, vice chairman of the Red Meat Producers Organization, said in a presentation in parliament in Cape Town. The pork-breeding stock has been cut by a similar margin, or 6,000 sows, James Jenkinson, chairman of the the Pork Producers Organization, said at the same sitting.

“The livestock industry needs to increase its calf percentage and lambing in order to rebuild the national herd,” Prinsloo said. It may take as long as four years for farmers to recover without the government’s financial assistance, he said.

The El Nino weather pattern last year prompted a drought with the least rainfall since 1904 in South Africa, decimating grazing and crops in the country. The dry weather, which extends to neighboring countries, may leave 29 million people at risk of food shortages, according to the United Nation’s World Food Program.

Pork-meat prices may increase by a quarter this year while the industry risks losing the jobs of about 10 percent of the 4,800 people it employs directly, Jenkinson said.

The drought has cut South African farming output and hurt manufacturing, curbing growth in the continent’s second-largest economy to an annualized 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter. About one in four workseekers is unemployed in the country.

The corn, wheat, sugar and livestock industries have been hit the hardest by the drought, while citrus farmers need urgent rains to avert long-term damage, according to AGRI SA, the nation’s largest farmers’ lobby group.

Tyson Foods Reports Strong Q2; Plans for ASF Impacts

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 04:54:17 GMT

The world supply of meat is changing, thanks to the widespread outbreak of African swine fever in China.

In its second quarter profit statement, Tyson projects its U.S. pork, chicken and beef units will all benefit from increased demand due to ASF outbreaks. On Monday, the Arkansas-based company reported quarterly profits above analysts’ estimates.

ASF, which is fatal to pigs but harmless to humans has been detected in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa and parts of Europe. Read the comprehensive coverage of ASF from Farm Journal’s PORK here.

Tyson reports all nine of their core business segments reported a 5.3% increase in volume over the past 13 weeks, and all categories are showing year-over-year increases. Prepared Foods had a record quarter with $249 million in operating income and 12.3% return on sales.

All Eyes on Pork

With African swine fever in China, the world’s top hog producer, about 5% of the global protein supply has disappeared as demand is rising, said Noel White , Tyson CEO, during a press conference.

“We currently project the pork segment’s operating margin for the fiscal year to exceed 6%. It is difficult to predict when ASF might positively impact our pork business,” he said. “However, we believe any financial benefit will likely occur in late 2019 or later, where we are well positioned to be agile and meet customer and consumer needs internationally and domestically.”

While there is opportunity to grow U.S.-produced meat and poultry sales, Tyson is not blind to the potential risks of ASF entering the U.S.

“The rate in which it has spread over the course of the last 12 months makes it very plausible that it could come to the U.S,” White said. If it did, that would kill hogs, close export markets, and raise input costs for pork used in prepared food products. Tyson tempered its forecast for prepared foods unit to a range of 10% to 12% return on sales, down from the 12% previously. They also plan to raise prices for prepared foods over the next six months to compensate for more expensive raw materials.

“We do not yet understand how pork and prepared food margins will be anything but impaired under the weight of higher hog costs,” J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman said.

Alternative Meats are Here to Stay

“As we previously announced, we are launching our full-scale initiative to enter the alternative protein space. We’ll be introducing products this summer and early in the next fiscal year, and we’re well-positioned to capture growth in this space. We have a deep understanding of how to develop new products, brands, and categories, and our distribution reach will allow us to move quickly into the marketplace,” White said.

Beef Segment Shows Growth Even as Supplies Increase

A 4% margin during what is typically the company’s most volatile quarter underscores the beef market for Tyson.

“Average price was up 2.3% and volume increased 3.2% compared to the second quarter last year on improved cattle availability and strong demand,” White said.

Tyson reemphasized the decision to use DNA technology to trace beef back the individual animal of origin for Open Prairie Natural brand of Angus beef, citing consumer demand for accountability to marketing claims.

“Global demand for high quality beef continues to be strong, and we expect our international beef sales to grow in the second half of the fiscal year contributing to the Beef segment’s margins of approximately 7% for the year,” he adds.