"This decision affected close to 150,000 broiler breeders representing approximately 6% of Astral's total breeding stock," Arnold said.
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"Immediate actions were put in place to replace the lost hatching egg production from this farm by extending the production of all other breeding capacity and tapping into hatching egg stocks."
He said the company was doing everything in its power to contain the outbreak. Once the infected sites have been depopulated and disinfected and the quarantine status lifted, the farm will be restocked and returned to normal production.
Astral CEO Chris Schutte said that if further breeding operations were affected, the company had limited surplus capacity it could use. "We would also draw on our contingency planning to the full extent which incorporates our international poultry breeding partner, and the sourcing of hatching eggs and/or poultry livestock to ensure uninterrupted supply within Astral's poultry value chain," he said.
The company's share price dropped by 6% to R148 a share on Wednesday after the outbreak was reported in the media. The price has since recovered slightly and the stock was trading at about R150 on Tuesday afternoon.
The outbreak on Astral's farm was the first of two that have been confirmed.
Namibia and Zimbabwe have both halted imports of South African poultry.
Source: BDpro
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