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The foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak that has impacted South Africa since 2021 continues to spread in some parts of the country despite government control efforts.

On March 12, 2025, the Government of Egypt (GoE) filed a ninth addendum to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) – G/TBT/N/EGY/313/Add.9 – informing interested parties that it was excluding imports of milk and dairy products from the scope of its Halal certification requirements.

South Africa’s dairy industry is likely to grow in the future due to improving economic factors, despite suffering from many weather and disease related challenges in the past five years. This growth may provide opportunities for dairy genetics exporters.

Egypt has released a pair of Government Decrees, several World Trade Organization notifications, and a revised Egyptian Standard in recent months on the shelf-life validity period for frozen beef liver and other products.

Porcine semen is now eligible to be exported to South Africa from the United States.

On September 19, 2024, the Government of Egypt filed an eighth addendum to the World Trade Organization's (WTO’s) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) -- G/TBT/N/EGY/313/Add.8 -- informing interested parties that the time period during which imported milk and dairy products that are not accompanied by a Halal certificate will be permitted to enter Egypt has been extended until December 31, 2025.

Post forecasts that chicken meat production will increase by three percent to 1.65 million tons in Marketing Year (MY) 2025 as a result of a strengthening domestic sector. Post raises the 2024 production estimate by 6 percent to 1.59 million tons as the industry has rebounded from the 2023 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak.

On June 27, 2024, the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry signed Decree No. 361/2024. The Decree extended the shelf-life validity period for imported frozen beef liver from seven to twelve months and for frozen fish from six to ten months. The decree is valid for six months, as of July 1, 2024, and expires on December 31, 2024.

Previously exporters and importers of live animals and genetic materials only required a permit, but a new directive requires prior authorization from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s Animal Production Directorate before applying for the permit.

Although extension of anti-dumping duties imposed on frozen bone-in poultry portions from the US would typically mean business as usual as these duties are rebated under the tariff rate quota, a current de-facto restriction on applying general tariff rebates to poultry imported under the TRQ makes the announcement more concerning than usual.

The Competition Commission of South Africa, and independent body under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition announced the launch of a comprehensive market inquiry that will seek to determine if the South African poultry industry is impeding, distorting, or restricting competition in a way that violates the South African Competition Act.

On January 26, 2024, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) together with the International Trade Administration (ITAC) announced the decision to implement a 25 percent rebate on bone-in cuts and 30 percent rebate on boneless chicken of imported chicken.