Following lively development in the early and mid-nineties, the global ostrich population has dropped again. Is there still a future for commercial ostrich production? There has been a marked decline in I the number of ostriches in world I flocks since the 1996 peak of 750,000 birds, Recent statistics collated by Ernst Janovsky of the First National Bank of South Africa highlight trends in production as influenced by supply and demand. At the end of 2000 it was estimated that there were 468,000 ostriches in world flocks, with over 63% located in the Republic of South Africa. The second-largest producer is Australia with 9% of the world's total and Israel, the People's Republic of China and the USA at approximately 5% each. The European Union only accounts for 4% but recently Brazil, Argentina and Spain have emerged as potential producers, establishing breeding flocks.
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