Cape Town - South African restaurants, caterers and hotels are expected to be hit by dramatic new import duties on french fries.
This is according to import-export business Hume International, amid heavy import tariffs on frozen french fries that came into effect in July, imposed by the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC).
These include duties on frozen chips from Belgium of up to 23.06% and up to 104.52% from the Netherlands, while German suppliers have been hardest hit with new duties of 181.05%.
Fred Hume, managing director at Hume International, said the South African potato industry does not supply enough raw material to meet the local market’s need for frozen french fries.
The South African french fry producers tend to prioritise contracts to retailers, fast food chains and quick service restaurants, and only then sell surplus – if any – to customers such as independent restaurants, wholesalers, hotels and caterers.
“These customers rely on frozen french fry imports to meet their needs for the simple reason that they are not able to get consistent supply locally,” he says.
“But the timing of these new duties is especially irrational given the poor local potato harvests seen in recent months, which have limited supply even further. Ultimately, it’s not a question of dumping or cheaper prices – in many cases, these customers will actually pay more for the imported products just to guarantee their supply of quality fries.”
South Africa imported more than 13 000 tons of frozen chips in 2020.
In 2021, this figure rose to nearly 24 000 tons.
However, European producers are currently battling the impacts of devastating heatwaves which are likely to result in below average potato harvests.
“Global supplies are already being rationed, while basic food costs have increased drastically in line with fuel prices, making the threat of oversupply or dumping highly unlikely. On top of this, new tariffs are being implemented at a time when households around the world are facing a cost-of-living crisis which is threatening food security,” said Hume.
Cape Times