Normal buying and selling circumstances improved throughout the primary quarter of the present fiscal yr (2023-2024), reported Astral Meals in a not too long ago printed buying and selling assertion.

For the three months to December 31, 2024, the agency reported a common return to normalization for its poultry enterprise. Whereas the sooner enterprise circumstances meant birds had been saved on farm for longer durations, broiler weights and ages have now returned to earlier requirements. This has not solely lowered feed prices, but in addition restored the poultry gross sales combine to constant hen sizes by the corporate’s processing crops.

To counter the water and energy provide points skilled earlier final yr, Astral Meals reported efficiently implementing contingency plans.

General, the corporate reportsed that its monetary place stays sound, and that gearing ranges are actually following a downward pattern. 

Avian flu impacted Astral Meals’ companies

Over the previous yr, the South African poultry business has been hit onerous by avian flu. For Astral Meals, a possible scarcity of rooster was averted by its program of importing hatching eggs, however the agency reviews this got here at appreciable price.

In the meantime, Astral Meals’ feed enterprise has additionally suffered from the illness outbreaks.

Not solely was much less feed required for its personal poultry enterprise as broiler rearing packages had been normalized, however its personal broiler breeder flock was additionally diminished by culling required to scale back the unfold of the illness.

The agency is forecasting a return to its feed necessities throughout the second half of the monetary yr, however in-house feed volumes are anticipated to stay beneath earlier ranges till the tip of March of 2024.

Extra on Astral Meals

With annual slaughterings of 290 million birds, Astral Meals is the biggest poultry meat firm, not solely in South Africa however on the African continent, in accordance with WATTPoultry.com’s High Poultry Corporations survey.

For the 2022-2023 fiscal yr, Astral Meals reported an general loss for the primary time within the firm’s historical past. This was attributed to a mixture of opposed components, together with rising prices, illness, and energy and water provide points. 

Avian flu scenario eases in South Africa

Primarily based on official notifications from the nationwide veterinary authority, there seems to be an easing within the avian flu scenario in South Africa.

Newest reviews to the World Organisation for Animal Well being (WOAH) define three additional outbreaks of extremely pathogenic avian influenza in industrial birds since April of final yr to 139. Straight impacted have been virtually 12.4 million poultry.

In addition to the H5N1 virus serotype detected broadly throughout the globe in current occasions, the H7N6 variant has additionally been detected in South Africa since Might of final yr. Poultry and different industrial birds at 113 farms have examined optimistic for the latter virus over this interval.