Meat prices expected to stay high amid foot-and-mouth disease outbreak

Meat prices are expected to remain high as the country battles what's been called the worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in years.

Meat prices increased on average by 12.2% in the 12 months to November 2025, the highest annual rate since January 2018.

The R80 billion livestock industry has seen production costs increase as it puts in place measures to deal with foot-and-mouth disease.

Industry body, Free State Agriculture (FSA), said consumers must be prepared for meat prices to remain high as the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak ravages livestock.

And these input costs are likely to be passed on to consumers.

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The commercial manager at the FSA, DR Jack Armour, said milk prices are also likely to be affected.

"There's enough meat, but it's becoming unaffordable, meat prices are rising, and it's going to have an impact on our milk value chain because all the milk farms are now vaccinating."

The outbreak, which started in KwaZulu-Natal early last year, has now spreadly across the country.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has, in the past, denied that the outbreak is out of control.

But Armour said South Africa doesn’t have sufficient vaccines, and new infections are registered daily.

"The current government does not have the capacity to handle the crisis as it is. We are not saying declare a disaster, but we need urgency; we don’t have enough, and the State vet cannot vaccinate anymore."

Steenhuisen has announced plans to start a vaccination rollout next month.