Zimbabwe lifts ban on cloven-hoofed animal imports from South Africa

The Red Meat Producers' Organisation (RPO) and Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) have welcomed Zimbabwe's recent move to lift the ban on the importation of cloven-hoofed animals and their products from select provinces in South Africa. This follows a notice issued by the Veterinary Services Directorate of Zimbabwe.

On January 7, 2025, the Veterinary Services Directorate of Zimbabwe officially lifted the ban, but with a significant condition. The lifting applies exclusively to animals originating from the provinces of Gauteng, North West, Northern Cape, and Western Cape. Exports from other South African provinces remain prohibited until further assessments are conducted.

The notice highlighted that these biosecurity measures are part of Zimbabwe's strategy to manage and monitor the ongoing foot-and-mouth disease outbreak affecting South Africa.

Wandile Sihlobo, the chief economist at Agbiz, praised the efforts of both governments and industry stakeholders in managing animal disease outbreaks.

"The past three years have been challenging for South Africa's livestock and poultry industry due to the spread of animal diseases. We've seen outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle, African swine fever in pigs, and avian influenza in poultry. South Africa's efforts to strengthen farm biosecurity controls and surveillance have intensified as a result," Sihlobo said.

In 2022, six of South Africa's nine provinces reported foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks. However, on October 25, 2024, the Department of Agriculture announced that the FMD outbreak affecting North West, Free State, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga Provinces had been successfully resolved. The World Organisation for Animal Health confirmed the absence of FMD in these provinces.

Dr. Frikkie Maré, the CEO of RPO, emphasized the economic impact of the border closures due to FMD outbreaks.

"Since the outbreak of FMD in South Africa during 2018/19, borders have been closed for the export of live animals, genetic material (semen/embryos), and meat to various countries. This has created significant challenges for breeders in neighbouring countries like Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, who have historically relied on South African genetics to improve their herds," he said.

Maré noted that the closure of borders not only restricted the importation of genetic material but also reduced South African breeders' ability to sell bulls, rams, semen, and embryos to international markets. The reopening of select markets, therefore, benefits both Zimbabwean farmers, who can now access genetic material, and South African farmers, who can resume exporting genetic material to Zimbabwean breeders.

Zimbabwe's latest move marks a step forward in regional agricultural collaboration and the recovery of cross-border trade in livestock and related products.