20100330
SABC

The water crisis that has hit Grahamstown could compromise the Eastern Cape’s market share for ostrich products overseas. Ostrich meat processors in the area are worried that if a permanent solution is not quickly found, it will hit the city's struggling economy hard.

The ostrich abattoir, tanning and other businesses rely heavily on water and are struggling to meet International standards of ostrich meat processing.

This abattoir uses on average 80 000 litres of water a day and with dams in Grahamstown drying up, adhering to health and safety standards have become a problem. Although a temporary solution in the form of pumping water from the nearby Fish River has been found, inconsistent water supply could prove detrimental to business.

Although there is a growing demand world-wide for ostrich meat, the decrease in the demand for the hide is also placing the industry under pressure.

The Eastern Cape is the second biggest producer of ostrich in South Africa, after Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape and the water shortage is going to put the region's export status at risk. The province is responsible for 18% of South Africa's ostrich exports.