Where's the biltong? Beef shortage sees limited stock in stores

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to Alexi Hadjidakis, Managing Director of J&M Biltong.

Listen below:

The recent foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in South Africa has significantly impacted the biltong market by causing a shortage of beef, leading to increased prices and potential supply issues.

This is primarily due to the outbreak's impact on major cattle feedlots like Karan Beef, which is a key supplier of beef for biltong production.

The price of beef has increased steadily over the last few months:

Minced beef, usually sold at about R90 per kilogram, now sells at R130 per kilogram.
Stewing beef, usually sold at R70 per kilogram, now fetches between R100 and R170 per kilogram, depending on the grade.

While you could get alternative biltong options such as kudu, fish or chicken biltong, it's just not the same. As Hadjidakis says, there's 'no substitution for beef biltong' and people, especially South Africans, will pay for high-quality biltong.

"We're in the same boat as the fresh meat industry... so when mince goes up, we get affected as well, and it's gone up at a rapid rate because of the crisis."

- Alexi Hadjidakis, Managing Director - J&M Biltong

Despite soaring beef prices, demand has not decreased drastically in South Africa, a 'biltong-loving nation', Hadjidakis says.

"We're a biltong-loving nation and, despite the prices going up, South Africans are still buying."

- Alexi Hadjidakis, Managing Director - J&M Biltong

"You will have the odd occasion where someone will say, 'Biltong has become too expensive'... we offer a high-quality product and our customers appreciate that we are not cutting corners with the quality and we're absorbing most of the price... we've had two massive increases over the past three months totaling probably up to 40% and we've only passed on about 22% to 24%... we make less, we hold our position... as long as we keep our customers happy; they need to continue eating biltong."

- Alexi Hadjidakis, Managing Director - J&M Biltong

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