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White meat consumption has grown with increases in per capita income and growth of the middle class

10 May 2017

South Africa has experienced rapid growth of middle-to-upper-class citizens fuelled by the parallel increase in disposable income of this socio-economic group
The GDP per capita of South Africa has grown by 54% in real terms from R45 580 in 1981 to R70 184 in 2013
As the poor emerge from poverty and the emerging middle class consumers are able to afford more protein in their diets, chicken, being the most affordable and versatile, has emerged as the meat of choice for this burgeoning population group
The result has been growth in white meat per capita consumption ahead of red meat coupled with added benefits of being easy to produce and with less cultural constraints than pork
White meat consumption per capita has grown by 223% from 11,93 kg/capita in 1981 to 38,5 kg/capita in 2014
Consumption of white meat has also been fuelled by the growth of QSRs like KFC and to an extent, people trading down for a cheaper source of protein
Red meat, being more expensive, is growing at a slower pace
Pork and sheep meat i.e. Lamb (the most expensive of all red meat) and mutton consumption have remained fairly flat while beef consumption has grown since 2001