South Africa on June 4, 2025 launched the second leg of the Red Meat Information System (RMIS) Traceability Platform, in the face of smashing prices.

The Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen directed the re-launch to hone sales’ accountability in the country’s meat sector.

Ranchers, butchers, processing plants, logistic companies and markets will all be pooling retail chain details on the RMIS’ traceability digital platform.

The platform keys in the animal’s movements from the time of birth to the slaughter with an aim to foster food safety.

Meat safety is a hot topic currently in South Africa since the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease.

As of September 10, the Department of Agriculture (DA) was praising minister Steenhuisen’s efforts to control the scourge. His ministrations brokered a beef/mutton deal with Iran despite China market moratorium, and helped drive the country’s Ag economy by 2.8%.

By October 2025, however, there were 274 new unsolved cases in KwaZulu-Natal, versus 165 similar cases earlier.

According to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the problem poses a national food security risk. 

Price Hike Before Holidays  

One outcome of the crisis is meat inflation, which rose by 6.6% on a yearly basis this June.

This is forcing the wildly popular braai (open fire meat barbecue) to turn unaffordable just before the December holidays.

A2 beef carcass upped to 85 Rand ($4.89) a kg, while retail beef to 130-220 Rand ($7.47-12.65) a kg in June 2025. This is according to the RMIS magazine’s price update for the year.

Sheep carcass rates were also 14.5% higher in June than in February 2025, at 75 -80 Rand ($4.31-4.6) a kg.

Although the disease outbreak has diminished beef exports, it has not quelled red meat exports altogether, further tightening domestic sales.

Given the tide of rising demand, priciness and disease factors, the second phase of the meat traceability system therefore comes as a godsend. Many see it as a way to recoup the glory of the South Africa red meat sector, internationally. The industry’s profile in turn forms the topic of the following statistics section.

South Africa Red Meat Industry Statistics 

The red meat industry of South Africa excels in the provision of quality beef and mutton cuts. According to the Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS), beef leads red meat production in South Africa at 777,706 tonnes, as of 2024. Despite cattle slaughters in the 2016-22 period depreciating by 0.5 million head, to 2.5 million, production still more than met the local demand. The same was true of mutton from sheep, whose production lowered in the 2016-22 period due to drought. Afterwards, production rebounded to an estimate of 100,000 tonnes of mutton in 2025, per the RIMS. The sheep slaughter count also rose to more than 5 million head annually (2025 estimate).

In terms of domestic consumption, beef leads because 80% of cattle in South Africa are beef types. According to governmental data, South Africa had 62 million consumers in 2023, who ate about 16.69 kg of beef per person per year.

According to data sources, chicken far outpaces beef consumption in SA by 3 times. Consumption in 2025 was at <42.5 kg per person per year. Meanwhile, pork enjoys <5.2 kg per capita while lamb and mutton a meager <2.9 kg per person per year. 

Pricing of red meat in South Africa is critical for honing a healthy industry because it standardizes prices consumers can afford and producers can profit. Chicken portions in supermarkets cost at least 55 Rand ($3.16) a kg while beef mince at least 100 Rand ($5.75) a Kg.  Beef rump steak in late 2025 was costing <230 Rand ($13.22)/kg, per the RMIS while lamb loin chops >230 Rand ($13.22)/kg.