CAPE TOWN: South Africa has signed an agreement with the United States to resume import of 65,000 tonnes of chicken each year, which had become bogged down over health concerns, the government said on Tuesday. The veterinary trade protocol comes after the US threatened to suspend trade benefits for South African farm products earlier this month, in retaliation against the clamp down on poultry imports. South Africa has been concerned that an outbreak of avian flu in the United States which killed nearly 50 million birds could pose animal and human health risks to Africa’s most advanced economy. The pact the two countries signed is part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a US programme designed to help African exporters. The agreement would see the United States emerge as one of the top poultry exporters to South Africa.