The foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in South Africa severely damaged its beef exports.

The South African Food and Agriculture Policy Bureau recently released a report stating that the ongoing foot-and-mouth disease epidemic has caused serious losses to the South African beef export and dairy industry. The report indicates that by 2025, there have been a total of 24,400 reported cases of domestic livestock infection with foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa, marking the highest record in 20 years. In just the second half of 2025 alone, there were nearly 21,600 reported cases. The report notes that the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic has had a severe impact on the South African beef export and dairy industry. The beef export volume in the first 11 months of 2025 decreased to 24,773 tons, a reduction of about 13,900 tons compared to the same period in 2024. It is predicted that the beef export volume in the same period in 2026 may further decrease. Additionally, as of mid-January 2026, the epidemic has affected more than 90 dairy farms in various regions of South Africa, involving over 210,000 dairy cows.