JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The stakeholders in the poultry industry on Tuesday held a special forum in Johannesburg and recommended that imports be reduced by 50 percent and local producers asking for protection against dumping.

The forum was attended by representatives from government, poultry producers, research institutions and civil society lobby groups in the poultry sector.

It was revealed during the forum that the poultry sector faces high input costs (like grain feed) and large volumes of cheap imported chicken, mostly from the EU, Brazil and the US. It was said the imports from the EU are highly subsidized.

Imameleng Mothebe, director of agri-processing in the Department of Trade and Industry, said they are proposing some measures to make the poultry sector viable. These include trade measures, a review of technical tariff structures, competitiveness and a lowering of input costs.

"The government is doing what it can, but the important thing is to ensure that the public is aware of the issues in order to pay allegiance to locally grown and produced products. This, in turn, will also assist the distressed poultry industry," said Mothebe.

The sector was organized by Proudly South Africa (SA) which advocates for the local products to be bought and used.

Fair Play, a poultry lobby organization called for anti-dumping measures to be put in place. Fair Play CEO Francois Baird called for the the zero VAT (value added tax) rating of South African poultry products to help poor South African consumers.

The country imports about 90 percent of mechanically deboned meat.