Tinned fish overtakes chicken as South Africa's preferred protein

• Published date: 07 May 2024
• Publication title: Mail & Guardian: Web Edition Articles (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Released on Monday, the report showed that the avian flu outbreak, first reported at the beginning of June 2023, pushed chicken prices up to an unaffordable level

A total of 8.5 million broilers and layer chickens were culled from April to November 2023 as a result of the outbreak, the commission reported. The government allowed 30 986 tonnes of poultry meat imports as a safety measure to stabilise the supply of chicken during the flu outbreak.

From June to December 2023 the retail price of chicken increased by 0.58% while the producer price rose by 8.80%.

In December 2023, canned pilchards cost consumers R1.12 per protein gram, while frozen chicken was R0.91 per gram, according to the report. Beef, at R2.81 per gram, was the most expensive.

Although consumers viewed pilchards as an alternative, the canned fish is not the most affordable source of protein. A gram of protein from pilchards cost R1.12 in December 2023.

The most affordable protein is dry beans, which cost R0.32 per protein gram, followed by eggs at R0.48 per protein gram.

Canned pilchards are sold in smaller quantities (typically 400g cans and smaller) which gives consumers some flexibility regarding their purchasing patterns.

This price increase is reflected in the sales figures of the listed canned pilchard producers, Oceana and Premier Fishing.

Oceana, which owns Lucky Star, reported a sales volume growth of 9% across local and export markets going from 8.8 million cartons in 2022 to 9.6 million in 2023.

Kagiso Zwane, an economist at the commission, said: "While pilchards might not be the cheapest source of protein per gram, there are...