A new system promises to make it easier to export animal products from Southern Afric
a to the EU, but it has failed to attract the attention of the South African livestock industry.
Dr Didier Carton of the TRAde Control and Expert System (Traces), was in Cape Town recently to introduce the system to delegates of six Southern African countries. However, according to Farmer’s Weekly’s sources, local industry bodies were unaware of this event.
David Wolpert, CEO of the South African Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE), said he has never heard of this system and that the association received no notification of the launch. According to a statement by Traces, this web-based system promises to significantly reduce the currently laborious administrative processes needed to export animals and animal products between Southern Africa and the EU.
“The system significantly reduces the administrative function of the authorities on both sides,” said Dr Carton, a veterinarian himself. “It removes much of the paperwork and streamlines the whole process by improving the communication between the relevant authorities.”
But according to Mark Luff of Excellent Meat Packers in Cape Town, who is also an executive member of AMIE, South Africa is not currenlty exporting meat to the EU, so meat producers won’t really benefit from the implementation of this system.
“South Africa currently does not have approval to export meat to the EU and this has been the case for a number of years now,” he explained. “The ostrich industry has been a notable exception, but due to an outbreak of the H5N2 avian influenza virus, exports of ostrich meat to the EU have also been banned since April 2011.” – Denene Erasmus
Source: newsroom - meattradenewsdaily.co.uk
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