An investigation into the impact of imported pork on the demand for pork in Queenstown.

Abstract

The demand for meat in South Africa may be growing faster than what the local market can supply. Imported pork may therefore help to meet the growing demand for pork or it may take market share away from the existing local pork market. A study of this nature could not be found. The majority of estimations found dated back to before 1994, many changes have occurred since then. New laws have been implemented and the meat industry has undergone substantial changes. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect imported pork products have on the demand for pork in Queenstown. The study set out to determine whether this effect was positive or negative for local business. The motivating factors were investigated to establish what made businesses sell imported pork products and not locally-produced pork products. The results were collected with the use of a questionnaire and were analyzed using Central Tendency Statistics and Descriptive Frequency Statistics. The sample size is relatively small due to the small size of Queenstown. A purposive sample had to be used and all respondents had to be contacted to achieve the highest rate of responses. The small sample size limited the accuracy and number of statistical tests available. Analysis of the results revealed that the majority of businesses in Queenstown do not sell imported pork, and have not observed a decrease in demand for locally-produced pork products due to the importation of pork. Businesses that made use of imported pork did so to reduce costs of manufacture and also because of the decrease of availability of local pork due to the outbreak of Swine Fever at the time. It is recommended to develop or improve a marketing system tor imported pork products. An investigation into the effect of imported beef, mutton and poultry on the demand for meat may give a better indication of demand for all meat products.