South Africans must brace themselves for egg and chicken shortages in the coming months, with SA's largest producer Astral Foods warning on Thursday the country is wrestling with its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu.
While the crunch is not expected to happen suddenly, but to be spread over some months, it could affect up to 20% of the country's broiler supply. Normally, the poultry sector produces some 22 million broilers for consumers per week.