South Africa has not left Brazilian poultry imports unrestricted after a Newcastle disease outbreak. It has chosen regional controls and export certification instead of a blanket ban on all poultry from Brazil.
Brazil notified South Africa on 20 October 2026 of an outbreak in the state of Santa Catarina. In a media statement dated 28 October, the Department of Agriculture said trade in specified poultry products could continue only when the conditions in the negotiated veterinary health certificates were met.
Editorial illustration.
Why imports have not stopped completely
The department’s answer is regionalisation. Rather than treating every farm, abattoir and export facility in a large country as equally exposed, the certificates set disease-free periods and location tests for the premises involved in a consignment.
That does not mean every Brazilian producer can keep shipping. Brazil’s veterinary authorities have been asked to ensure that consignments intended for South Africa meet the relevant certification requirements.
| Product | Disease-free requirement | Location requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh poultry meat | No Newcastle disease cases at the source premises, including within a 10 km radius, during the previous six months. | The abattoir and cutting plant must not be in a Newcastle disease-infected zone. |
| Hatching eggs and day-old chicks | The farms and relevant facilities must have been free of the disease for the previous 12 months. | The farms and facilities must not be in a Newcastle disease-infected zone. |
Source: Department of Agriculture media statement, 28 October 2026. The document was issued by the department and is hosted by the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters.
What this means for shoppers and food businesses
For consumers, the announcement does not establish that infected meat has entered South Africa. It describes the conditions under which eligible trade may continue. Nor does it guarantee that every consignment will arrive, pass the required checks or appear on a particular retailer’s shelf.
For importers and food manufacturers, the practical issue is certification. A supplier outside the affected zones still needs to meet the product-specific disease-free conditions. A certificate is not a blanket exemption for all products or all establishments.
For local poultry producers, the decision avoids an immediate countrywide prohibition on Brazilian supply, but it does not settle the wider debate over imports, tariffs and domestic competitiveness.
What remains unknown
- The department’s statement does not quantify how much current trade is affected.
- It does not identify the exporting establishments that may qualify under the certificates.
- It does not estimate retail price effects or promise uninterrupted supply.
- It does not report disease activity across all of Brazil.
Bottom line
South Africa is still importing eligible poultry from Brazil because its veterinary arrangement is designed to apply controls to the affected geography and the facilities behind each consignment. The outbreak changed the certification test. It did not automatically close the entire Brazilian market.
Sources and methodology
- Department of Agriculture: South Africa’s response to the Newcastle disease outbreak in Brazil, dated 28 October 2026.
Both documents were opened and read on 2 November 2026. The Department of Agriculture statement is the primary source for the outbreak response and certification conditions. This article does not make a human-health finding, verify a particular shipment or forecast prices.
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