Image: MLONDOLOZI MBOLO
Alwyn Krull’s Sunrise Eggs is not counting its chickens before they hatch, but egg sales are continuing at a steady rate.
Anca Foods, one of the Eastern Cape’s biggest independent poultry companies, has been counting its chickens, and they have added up to an increase in sales over the past few — difficult — months.
Anca chair Tony Isemonger said the company had recently employed more workers because of the need for social distancing to counter the spread of the coronavirus.
“We are observing the rules to the letter, doing everything we have to regarding personal protection equipment,” Isemonger said.
"The production area has lines on the floor and staff cannot move out of their designated area.”
He said demand for Anca’s products was steady, mainly due to the fact that poultry was the cheapest live protein source.
The company is traditionally a leading supplier of fresh chicken but the market has now changed, with customers preferring frozen pieces.
Though the company is happy to keep supplying products, profits are waning.
“The extra staff [are] costing a lot of money and we are also spending more on power.
"However, we are very fortunate to have a consistent supply of both electricity and water.
"Last year we had a desperate shortage of both, and the situation threatened our and our staff’s future.”
Krull’s Sunrise Eggs produces a premium brand of organic selenium-enriched eggs.
The main farm is in the Kwelera district, near Crossways on the east coast.
The farm has more than a dozen large battery houses. It is fully automated and eggs are not touched until they reach the packing factory.
Sunrise is a nationally recognised brand and supplies eggs on a contract basis to most of the leading retail chains.
Chickens lay best in their first year and every 12 months, on a rotational basis, all the birds in one battery are cleared and sold live.
Krull said there was a big demand for the chickens because prices were lower and live chickens were more popular in townships and rural villages.
“Several of our customers have their own businesses.”
Less mechanised producers are having a more difficult time during lockdown, MD of Raseto Agricultural Enterprise Motlatsi Tolo said in a recent report on the informal poultry industry.
Raseto is based in Zeerust, North West.
Several challenges are hampering production, including workers — mainly in the catching and washing teams — having to apply for work permits, delays in taxis transporting employees to and from production areas, restrictions on travel and roadblocks.
Trucks are having to extend delivery times of live chickens to abattoirs, which in turn increases the mortality rate. All the restrictions drive costs up and profits down.
Tolo said supply chains and retail outlets have been proactive by creating mobile shops and taking chickens to the people.
South Africans’ reliance on chicken as a prime protein source makes the country one of the world’s biggest chicken consumers.
Every day, 2.7 million birds are consumed in South Africa.