Recently, a warning has been issued by a South African French fry distributor that the country’s stocks of fries are ‘in short supply’, underlining the greater need for government engagement on product import tariffs.

In July, South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) imposed new import tariffs of up to 23.06% on frozen French fries from Belgium and up to 104.52% on frozen fries from the Netherlands, with German suppliers being hit the hardest with new duties of 181.05%. Local fry producers, however, have been issuing communications to warn clients of impending shortages since May.

“I’d like to first clear up any confusion and make a clear distinction between fresh potatoes and products such as frozen French fries. Potatoes must be processed to make French fries, which is the end product that we import to supplement our South African-made supplies for clients,” according to Fred Hume, Managing Director of Hume International, cited by Cape Business News.

Despite receiving tariff benefits for the better part of a decade, Hume explained that there has not been enough investment in expanding production capacity and ensuring that there is an adequate supply of frozen French fries for the market’s needs, which is why so many companies have been forced to rely on European producers to supplement their stock.

Based on his assessments, clients are paying up to 50% more for frozen French fries from Europe to secure a steady supply.

“This is why we believe that there needs to be greater transparency and industry engagements in the decision-making process for tariffs, as there is a clear-cut case that anti-dumping duties are being calculated incorrectly in a grossly under-supplied market without consideration for all the facts. Imposing sudden, sharp tariff hikes such as these risks placing consumers under even more pressure, especially at a time when food prices are already under pressure as a result of rising input costs like fuel and fertilizer,” Hume warned.

In the short term, he believes that the government should consider lifting anti-dumping duties and engage more openly with importers and businesses to discuss constructive solutions to South Africa’s supply chain constraints.

“An ideal situation would be for us to have the majority of product supplied locally should the industry commit to urgently expanding its capacity over the next few years. Not only would this shorten our supply chains for local clients, but as French fry distributors, we also supply to several other countries across Africa, and we would welcome the opportunity to export more South African-made frozen fries. This would be the ultimate win-win,” Hume concluded, according to the same media source.