Readily accessible meat markets are faltering while South Africa chases new ones

12 June 2026: Italy’s interest in South African beef – raised during recent trade discussions at the SA-Italy Agriculture Business Forum in Cape Town – should be a positive signal for local producers. However, new export opportunities mean little if government cannot restore access to meat markets already accessible, approved, or commercially ready, says Paul Matthew, CEO of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters of Southern Africa (AMIE).

AMIE chairman Mark Luff says global trade shifts such as rising US tariff pressure make it important for South Africa to diversify its agricultural trade relationships, and Italy’s interest in local beef confirms that demand exists for South African red meat. However, the meat industry’s immediate problem is not a shortage of buyers. Exporters are still struggling to move product into markets where demand already exists because authorisation and government-to-government processes remain unresolved.

Market access delays are blocking ready buyers

“The industry cannot speak seriously about future access to new European markets while existing export channels remain blocked,” Luff warns. “Lamb exports to Qatar have been stuck for two years while access into Dubai is still not finalised, and facilities affected by foot-and-mouth disease remain shut out of key Middle Eastern markets where commercial momentum should already have been restored.”

Qatar shows how quickly an export opportunity can become a long-term loss. The country banned South African lamb imports on 1 June 2024, and AMIE says buyers are ready to resume purchasing, yet the renegotiation and authorisation process remains incomplete. Before the ban, South Africa exported about 300 tonnes of lamb to Qatar every month, representing roughly 150,000 lamb carcasses that could have earned export premiums for local producers. AMIE estimates the loss at around R750 million a year and about R1.5 billion over two years.

The same pattern is now affecting several Middle Eastern export channels. Unresolved procedures linked to Egypt are delaying progress on Qatar, Mauritius, and Bahrain. In several cases, trading partners have accepted South Africa’s conditions or sent the required documentation, but exporters are still left waiting for final action from the Department of Agriculture.

“Market access has no practical value if exporters cannot turn it into approved product moving through the supply chain. Once buyers replace South African lamb or beef with a more reliable supplier, that space is difficult and costly to win back. Importers prefer to build their procurement systems around suppliers that can deliver consistently, and by the time South Africa is ready to trade, the opportunity may already have moved on.”

SA meat trade is stuck behind certification bottlenecks

AMIE insists that the Department of Agriculture must urgently prioritise the regulatory protocols needed to reissue health certificates and reopen existing markets before presenting new opportunities to the industry. The association says the current delays are primarily internal and preventable, especially where foreign authorities have already engaged, buyers are ready, and exporters are still waiting for clear compliance pathways.

Luff says the pressure is now being made worse by inconsistent veterinary interpretation between provinces, which can delay or derail consignments even after exporters believe the necessary permits or approvals are in place.

“Italy may want South African beef, but no buyer in Rome, Doha, or Dubai can trade on promises of future system readiness. They need signed certificates, mutually agreed health conditions, approved facilities, and a veterinary authority that moves at commercial rather than bureaucratic speed. Exporters are particularly hamstrung by inconsistent veterinary interpretation between provinces.”

A consignment may have the necessary permits or approvals in place, only to be delayed or rejected because officials apply the same national documents inconsistently. The cost is carried across the chain through significant financial loss, product spoilage risk, damaged buyer confidence, and greater uncertainty for producers, abattoirs, cold-chain operators, and logistics providers.

“The priority now must be to clear the backlog in countries where demand for South African lamb and beef already exists, and for government to reform and modernise the systems, protocols, certification processes, and communication channels that determine whether a product can move. Only then will our current market-access challenges begin to be resolved, allowing new trading partners like Italy to be considered,” Luff concludes.