South Africa’s livestock industry and biosecurity challenges
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However, the industry is currently facing one of its worst biosecurity crises in many years. Persistent disease outbreaks, especially Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), together with problems in veterinary services, animal movement control, and on-farm biosecurity, are putting pressure on productivity, exports, farmers’ incomes, and food prices.As of mid-2026, South Africa is experiencing its worst Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in modern history. Since 2025, more than 1,300 FMD cases have been reported across all nine provinces.
The hardest-hit areas are KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, North West, and Gauteng. In February 2026, the government declared FMD a national disaster and started the country’s largest-ever mass vaccination campaign.By the end of May 2026, the state had bought 13.5 million vaccine doses and had already injected nearly 4.4 million cattle. A new 10-year national strategy has been launched with the long-term goal of regaining FMD-free status with vaccination, in line with international standards.Other serious diseases are also causing problems. These include African Swine Fever in pigs, recurring outbreaks of Avian Influenza in poultry, and Brucellosis.The outbreaks have had a heavy impact on the industry. Farmers have suffered major production losses and lower herd productivity. Strict movement restrictions have disrupted livestock sales and breeding programmes. Agricultural business confidence has dropped sharply, beef exports fell by 26% in 2025, and some major markets like China placed bans on South African beef.
As a result, red meat and dairy prices have risen for ordinary consumers.Many commercial farmers, especially in badly affected provinces, are under severe financial pressure. Some have been forced to cull animals or reduce their herds dramatically, while others are struggling with cash flow because they cannot sell their livestock and face rising veterinary costs.Experts say the root causes of these challenges include weakened state veterinary services, slow responses to outbreaks, poor animal identification and traceability systems, weak movement controls between provinces, and insufficient biosecurity practices on many farms. There is also limited cooperation between government, industry organisations, and farmers, as well as pressure from wildlife reservoirs such as African buffalo.On the positive side, the government has taken some important steps.
These include large-scale vaccine purchases (including doses from Turkey), the launch of a routine FMD vaccination programme, and a stronger focus on protecting export zones.However, many critics say that implementation is still too slow, coordination between departments is poor, and farmers often feel left out of important decisions.Biosecurity is no longer just a veterinary matter — it has become a critical economic and food security issue. Industry leaders believe South Africa needs stronger partnerships between government and the private sector, better training for farmers on on-farm biosecurity, improved traceability systems, stable funding for veterinary services, and rewards for producers who maintain high standards.Without clear and sustained improvements, the country risks long-term damage to its livestock reputation, fewer exports, and even higher food prices. The livestock sector’s future depends on how effectively the current FMD outbreak is brought under control and whether a stronger animal health system can be built.The next few months will be very important in deciding whether South Africa can overcome these biosecurity challenges or whether they will continue to weaken one of the country’s key economic sectors.
While the outbreak does not necessarily mean a wide slaughtering of cattle for farmers and, encouragingly, has now been quarantined in various sites or farms, the economic effect still cuts deep. The effect on livestock auctions is huge.
Moreover, bans by many countries on imports of SA’s livestock products constrain the growth of the sector and harm the potential for emerging black farmers to reap the benefits from an increasingly export-orientated livestock sector.
SA’s beef industry is aggressively building its export activity, with exports having grown nearly seven-fold over the past two decades. But SA is still not able to export its top-quality beef products to the US, UK and EU markets, where the returns would be far higher than exporting to the Middle East and other smaller markets.
Foot and Mouth Disease: how did we get to this point? South Africa
Frequent foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in 2026 risk reversing or slowing the beef industry’s export drive. Weaker exports could lead to softer domestic beef prices at a time when feed costs for grains and oilseeds remain elevated, adding financial strain on farmers. The pressure extends beyond cattle to sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. Wool exports have been temporarily suspended by a major market for about three months due to the outbreak. That market accounts for roughly 70% of the country’s wool exports, so the ban has a broad negative financial impact on the wool industry and the communities that depend on it.Livestock is also a subsector with significant participation by farmers from former homelands.
Estimates suggest these farmers account for 18% of wool, 13% of mohair, and 34% of cattle production. While the data’s accuracy is debatable, a sizable share of agricultural output by these farmers is affected by the financial pressures. New-entrant farmers often lack financial buffers to withstand a tough livestock market, and established commercial farmers are also reporting struggles due to financial strain.Given the focus on inclusive growth and employment creation in agriculture, efficient prevention and management of animal diseases and maintenance of animal health is critical. Public veterinary and animal health services have a vital legislative, budgetary, and coordinating role in protecting the national herd and enabling sector growth.
An animal biosecurity task team was established by the department responsible for agriculture, land reform, and rural development, and has completed its work with recommendations to address current challenges. Making the report public and urgently implementing its recommendations could enable effective collaboration between the private sector and government to curb disease spread and improve livestock health. Active engagement with key wool market authorities is needed to resume exports, as frameworks from previous outbreaks exist. Such engagement is crucial as that economy reopens from tough lockdowns, and the government should move quickly. For rising feed costs, expected seasonal rains would help by allowing natural grazing veld to recover and assist the livestock sector to some extent.Overall, the agricultural sector faces numerous challenges, from network industry constraints to broader policy issues like the need for increased export markets. In the near term, resolving the constraints facing the livestock industry would bring some relief.
