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KWV in good spirits as earnings increase
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KWV Holdings has lifted attributable earnings a share to 79.6c from 50.5c, and headline earnings a share to 48.5c from 18.6c during the six months since its unbundling and the separate listing of its investment arm as Capevin Holdings.
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Food firms face fixing blow
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The country's big four consumer food groups - Tiger Brands, Pioneer Foods, Foodcorp and Premier Foods - will come before the Competition Tribunal again for a ruling on alleged price-fixing in their milling divisions since 2006.
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Douglas Green targets women
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Realising that most of the wine sold in South Africa is bought in supermarkets by women, Pieter Terblanche, the brand manager for Douglas Green wines, believes a 20 percent rise in sales last year is due to aiming its advertising at "the sassy independent woman".
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AVI units deliver a mixed bag of results
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Consumer goods group AVI experienced a mixed portfolio performance in the six months to December, with strong trading in its fashion and beverages divisions offsetting a tough environment for its fishing and snacks businesses.
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PSG chief asks Pioneer Foods board to resign
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The entire 14-member board of Pioneer Foods had been asked to resign by shareholder PSG Group after the food processor was fined R195 million in the bread price-fixing scandal, it emerged yesterday.
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Cadbury SA workers to strike
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Johannesburg - A thousand protesters were expected to march at Cadbury's factory in Port Elisabeth on Thursday, the Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) said.
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It'll be no small beer, says SAB
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South African Breweries will produce about 30 million more beers for the five-week World Cup. With an estimated 450,000 visitors expected during this period, and an anticipated 4% to 6% increase in demand for beer, the brewer is finalising plans to ensure sufficient supply.
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Watchdog looking for precedent
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Pretoria - The narrow interpretation relating to the imposition of penalties for cartel behaviour can have a significant effect on the Competition Commission's future determination of fines.
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Now Pioneer appeals tribunal fine
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Within hours of the Competition Commission appealing against the Competition Tribunal's R196 million fine on Pioneer Foods in the bread cartel matter and indicating it was seeking R1.5 billion fine, Pioneer announced that it would cross-appeal.
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SAB deal open for retailers
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Johannesburg - Global brewing giant SABMiller plc's local unit, The South African Breweries, announced on Monday that the retailer component of its broad-based empowerment transaction - SAB Zenzele - is now open for participation by retailers. The offer is scheduled to close on 7 April and will be implemented in May 2010.
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Pioneer may face another fine
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Johannesburg - Pioneer Food said on Friday that it wants to bring the matter regarding the Competition Tribunal's decision earlier this month to impose a fine of R196m in respect of the bread related matter to a swift close. Further announcements will follow in due course.
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Distell's sales rise, but earnings stall
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Despite the effects of the recession, Distell grew sales volumes by 7.7 percent and revenue by 9.3 percent to R6.6 billion in the six months to December, and the wine and spirits giant maintained its interim dividend at R1.24 a share.
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Sugar to sweeten Tongaat
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Tongaat Hulett expects its profit for the year to December to increase by nearly 40 percent due to favourable weather conditions and an exceptionally high sugar price.
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Country Bird Revenue rises 14% to R1.26bn
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Poultry producer Country Bird has announced a 14 percent rise in revenue to R1.26 billion for the six months to December and predicted a significant upturn with the onset of the World Cup.
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Illovo wants a bigger lollipop
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Durban - Illovo Sugar's plans to spend about R6bn expanding sugar production in Africa, which will increase capacity by about two-thirds to 2.7 million tonnes per annum, may entail some risk.
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ABI strike ends
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The Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) on Monday accepted a wage increase offer from Amalgamated Beverage Industries, ending a
seven-week-long strike.
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Premium on price as beer wars intensify
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Castle Lite is winning the battle of South Africa's premium beer wars, with Amstel a close second. Nielsen figures show that Castle Lite has just over 30% of the premium beer market in South Africa, with Amstel holding 28.5%.
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Pioneer may appeal R195m fine
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Johannesburg - Food producer Pioneer may appeal against the R195m fine imposed on it by the Competition Tribunal for its role in a bread cartel which involved the country's major bakeries.
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ABI wage offer remains unchanged
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A salary increase offer by Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) to its striking employees remained unchanged on Tuesday, over a month since workers downed tools to demand a 9.5 percent salary increase, the company said.
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Local beers will be taboo at all 2010 stadiums
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If you're not planning to buy tickets for the World Cup and you're not familiar with the international brand Budweiser, you may want to plan a trip to a World Cup fan park, where soccer supporters will be able to watch live matches on gigantic TV screens and drink local beer.
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ABI won't up soft drink offer
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Johannesburg - Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) is not budging on its wage offer to striking employees, despite a compromise from the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) which represents the soft drink bottler's workers.
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Pioneer Foods to spend R900m
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Western Cape-based consumer brands giant Pioneer Foods will spend more than R900m in capital expenditure (capex) in the year to end September 2009 to "facilitate the next level of earnings ability".
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Buffett critical of Cadbury deal
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Warren Buffett said Wednesday he doesn't approve of Kraft's $19.5bn acquisition of Cadbury, but he doesn't plan to sell his stake in the company.
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Stage set for SAB to prove its innocence
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SAB could be facing a fine of as much as $400 million (about R3 billion), equivalent to 10 percent of its turnover, if the local arm of brewer SABMiller fails to defend itself against allegations of anti-competitive behaviour made by the Competition Commission.
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SA wines bestsellers in UK
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Retail sales figures released by AC Nielsen for the UK show that South Africa continues to rank as the fastest-growing wine category in the UK, increasing its volume share of the market to 12.3% for 2009, up from 10.4% in 2008.
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SAB misses forecasts
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Brewing giant SABMiller missed forecasts as it reported flat third-quarter worldwide underlying beer volumes on Tuesday as consumer demand was varied with some regions showing signs of recovery and others subdued.
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AVI eyes higher earnings
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Johannesburg - Diversified group AVI said on Monday that consolidated headline earnings per share for the continuing operations of the Group for the six months ending 31 December 2009 are expected to increase by between 5% and 10% over the comparable period in the prior year.
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Retailers unfazed by ABI strike
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Johannesburg - Major supermarkets said on Tuesday that the ongoing strike by employees of Amalgamated Beverages Industries (ABI) has not affected the supply of soft drinks in their stores.
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Is this the end of food as we know it?
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A new film paints an apocalyptic picture of a world reduced to tinned goods. But could it ever happen here?In Cormac McCarthy's The Road, (the film of which is out this weekend), the only food left is in cans. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a father and son scavenge for tinned goods. "Chili, corn, stew, soup, spaghetti sauce. The richness of a vanished world."
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The price of rice is on the boil
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Back in 2008 it was all snap and crackle in the world’s rice markets as production shortfalls led major exporters such as Vietnam, Thailand and India to restrict exports to ensure adequate supplies for domestic markets.
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Breweries not closing down in ABI strike - SAB
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Management at South African Breweries (SAB) yesterday denied union claims that its three Gauteng-based breweries would be on a "shut-down" on Monday for workers to join a protest march to SAB head office in Sandton.
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World Cup boost for SA wines
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Stellenbosch - South Africa's wine industry expects increased global sales in 2010, although a strong and volatile rand currency threatens its long-term prospects, a senior official said on Wednesday.
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Food price boon for SA
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Cape Town - South African consumers can have the peace of mind of knowing that there will probably be adequate maize available at affordable prices this year.
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Tiger on R600m expansion trail
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SA’s largest food company, Tiger Brands, has budgeted R600m for capital expenditure locally and is planning to make further investments in the rest of Africa to add to operations in Cameroon and Kenya.
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SABMiller workers to step up strike
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Workers at SABMiller's soft drink unit in South Africa plan to step up their strike over pay this week, threatening to disrupt beer and soft drink supply in the new year.
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Drinks company turns to CCMA
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The soft drinks company ABI said on Sunday that it will be appealing to Cosatu and the CCMA to intervene in the wage labour dispute between itself and the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu).
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Troubles brewing in tea sector
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Cape Town - New troubles of two tea estates, given over to emerging farmers under various land reform programmes dating back to the apartheid government's attempts to build a viable tea industry in the Transkei, have been described by Tina Joemat-Peterson the Agriculture Minister. She responded in a written reply to a parliamentary question put by Piet Pretorius of the Democratic Alliance.
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World Cup visitors anticipate cheaper beer
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While the intrepid soccer fans making the long journey to South Africa for next year's World Cup may face steep flight and accommodation costs, they may gain consolation from beer prices being nearly two-thirds cheaper than they usually pay.
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SAB loses premium honours
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South African Breweries (SAB) has been dethroned as the market leader in the country's premium beer market.
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Cadbury upbeat in defence against Kraft bid
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BRITAIN’S Cadbury Plc raised its long-term growth targets and reported upbeat trading as it dismissed a £10bn bid from Kraft Foods, kicking off a seven-week fight for its independence.
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SA drinks less wine, brandy
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Cape Town - In the year to end-October South Africans have scaled down their wine and brandy consumption, but in export markets more South African wine has flowed from bottles than in the previous corresponding period.
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Danone buys Clover stake of joint venture
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Dairy company Clover SA yesterday, 10 December 2009, said it would sell its 45% stake in Clover Danone - a local joint venture with French dairy producer Groupe Danone - to the multinational company for just more than R1bn.
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Heineken announces drive into India, Asia
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Dutch beer group Heineken on Monday announced it was linking up with major Indian brand Kingfisher in a bid to increase its presence in one of the world's fastest growing beer markets.
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Two Oceans ads misleading
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Johannesburg - On Friday the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that labels, as well as television and internet advertisements, for Two Oceans wines were misleading as these wines had their origin in neither Cape Point nor the Cape Peninsula.
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World Cup food shortage?
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While the hospitality industry has been planning with ''military precision" to feed tourists, local producers say supplies of fresh fruit, milk and vegetables are their only worry - but it will all be up to the weather to decide.
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Cigarette giant to fight SA law
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Johannesburg - British American Tobacco SA (Batsa) has launched a court challenge to anti-smoking legislation, the National Council Against Smoking said on Wednesday.
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China lifts pork import ban
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China on Tuesday announced it had lifted a ban on pork imports from countries including the United States, following through on a pledge made at high-level Sino-US trade talks in October.
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Longer wait for SA dark beer
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London - British drinks giant Diageo Plc plans to eventually brew its Guinness beer in South Africa now that its new joint venture brewery near Johannesburg has started up, but local production is still some years off.
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Spare rib lovers, beware
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Johannesburg - The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is considering severe restrictions on the importation of pork, which could result in a serious shortage of spare ribs, in particular.
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Sasko boosts Pioneer profits
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Johannesburg - Pioneer Foods Group posted a 22% increase in full-year headline earnings per share (EPS) on Monday boosted by a strong performance in its Sasko bread division and higher margins.
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US angry over frozen chickens
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At the World Trade Organisation (WTO) the United States is demanding answers from South Africa regarding "illegal" anti-dumping tariffs of up to R6.96/kg imposed on American frozen chicken portions.
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Tiger Brands gains from cheaper choices
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Tiger Brands, SA’s largest food company, yesterday said profit for the year to September rose 8% to R2,5bn, as people switched to maize from more expensive staples such as rice, and commodity prices fell from the high prices seen the year before.
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Cadbury hits record high as rival bidders circle
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Cadbury Plc shares hit a record high on speculation of a battle for the British confectioner between bidder Kraft Foods Inc and rivals who are considering making takeover offers, analysts said on Monday.
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Tiger profits up, eyes tough 2010
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Johannesburg - Consumer goods firm Tiger Brands reported a 20% rise in full-year headline earnings per share from continuing operations on Monday and predicted a tough trading environment next year.
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Crumbed chicken boosts Rainbow profit
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Rainbow Chicken benefited from the sale of crumbed frozen foods in the six months to September and would continue to roll out new product innovations in an effort to increase its market share.
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Clover may cut ties with industry
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Clover will have little choice but to withdraw from all dairy industry associations if it is unable to secure a satisfactory response to its application for temporary exemption from the Competition Act.
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Rainbow targets 2010 sales goals
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Johannesburg - Poultry group Rainbow Chicken has joined the ranks of food companies hoping to score big during the 2010 Fifa Cup.
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Counterfeiters hit wine
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Petrus, Romanee-Conti, Chateau d'Yquem — wines coveted by connoisseurs, and targeted by counterfeiters.
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SAB share price up on interims
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Britain-based brewer SABMiller reported earlier that it’s profits slumped by almost one third during the group’s first half, adding that it faced further struggles despite stabilising economic growth.
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Hershey considers bid for Cadbury
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Hershey , the maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, may give up its last chance to expand into international markets in one push unless it counters Kraft Foods’ bid for chocolate maker Cadbury .
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Astral profits despite feed division
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JSE-listed foods group Astral Foods lifted earnings a share by 6 percent to R8.90 in the year to September though its feed unit suffered as a result of volatile market conditions affecting the group's input costs.
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Astral lifts profit, pays dividend
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Johannesburg - Food company Astral announced on Monday that its full year to end September diluted headline earnings per share had lifted 6% to 890c.
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Oceana: Profit up despite Lucky Star's dip
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Oceana reported an 18 percent increase in earnings a share and headline earnings a share for the year to September even though there was insufficient product to fully meet demand.
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Food companies put sustainability on the menu
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Global food companies are coming up with their own solutions to avoid a repetition of last year’s food shortages and record-high prices, in many cases moving ahead of government initiatives.
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Cadbury again rejects Kraft as bid goes hostile
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BRITISH confectioner Cadbury yesterday rejected outright a £9,8bn hostile takeover bid from Kraft Foods. Cadbury said the new approach from Kraft “does not come remotely close to reflecting the true value of our company”.
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Thumbs up for Tiger Brands’ ‘impressive’ update
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Analysts last week gave a thumbs up signal to Tiger Brands for its impressive trading update in which SA's largest foods company told shareholders to expect much higher earnings when it reports its annual results later this month.
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Experts split on sweeter share prices
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Illovo Sugar and Tongaat Hulett's share prices have surged over the past 10 months, buoyed by the strong sugar price that reached a 22-year high recently, but analysts are divided on whether the party is now over.
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Johnson & Johnson plans restructuring
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Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it will trim layers of management, cut thousands of jobs, and set other restructuring moves in order to save up to $900-million next year.
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Illovo expects earnings rise
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Illovo Sugar said in a trading update on Tuesday that its headline earnings per share (HEPS) and earnings per share (EPS) for the six months ended September 30 are expected to be between 25% and 30% higher than those of the previous corresponding period.
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World Cup to spice up Food Solutions volumes
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Food Solutions, the Unilever subsidiary that supplies sauces, dressing and spices to the food service industry, expects volumes to rise substantially next year as tourists flood to South Africa.
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KWV and Distell work as ‘friends’
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The relationship between wine group KWV and spirits group Distell is "very professional and friendly" but there is "not one whisper of collusion between them", according to Thys Loubser, the chief executive of KWV Holdings.
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Country Bird closes in on Sovereign Foods
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Talks between junior foods business Sovereign Foods and Country Bird are currently focused on the synergies of a merged entity, a sign that the deal could go ahead.
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Country Bird plans further African forays
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Acquisitive poultry group Country Bird on Monday, 20 October 2009, said it planned to expand into other parts of southern Africa and wanted to increase its domestic market share through a possible acquisition as it moves to within spitting distance of larger competitors Rainbow and Astral Foods.
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Pioneer to report earnings rise
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Johannesburg - Higher sales volumes, cost-cutting and lower input costs are some of the reasons why consumer goods group Pioneer Foods will report significantly higher earnings for the year to end-September.
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Pioneer eyes tasty earnings
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Food group Pioneer Foods (PFG) on Tuesday advised shareholders that headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the 12 months ended September 30 2009 are expected to be between 350c and 405c per share (2008: 292cps) or between 20% and 39% higher than the previous corresponding period.
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Sovereign in R144m rights offer
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Sovereign Food Investments announced Tuesday that it is to implement a capital and debt restructuring programme to improve the gearing level of and enhance the cash flows within the group.
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Tiger: Fewer shares for BEE deal
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On Friday Tiger Brands announced a restructured second phase to its empowerment deal. This follows shareholders' rejection of the original proposal.
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Signs of ‘turning point’ for SABMiller
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A Johannesburg analyst yesterday said the worst could be over for SABMiller after the global brewer released a grim trading update for the six months to September.
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Unilever names worst fear: an L-shaped future
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Gail Klintworth, the chairman of Unilever South Africa, has warned her staff to prepare for the worst. Although talk of green shoots is peppering just about every conversation and press release on the economy, the group globally is expecting an L-shaped recovery, meaning that getting back to where we were before the bust is going to take a very long time.
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Astrapak profits from renewed focus
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Astrapak grew its fully diluted headline earnings a share by 845 percent in the six months to August due to the sale of unwanted businesses, the lower prices of raw material and new acquisitions, the packaging group said yesterday.
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Consumer goods far horizons
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Whether the fast-growing economies of India, China and Brazil can help pull the world out of the current recession is a matter of debate. But to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant Unilever, which earns 50% of its revenues in the developing world, the question is academic.
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Advertisers move into malls to secure sales
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Companies are increasingly using shopping centres to advertise to catch consumers while they are in the buying mood. An estimated 35 million consumers visit malls every month.
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Too much milk and no honey in land of the dairy giants
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Tough trading conditions in the dairy industry have compelled producers Clover and Parmalat to review their business models, with Clover reportedly retrenching nearly 90 workers. The retrenchment of a further 300 to 500 workers at Clover is said to be planned.
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Tiger Brands' empowerment deal unfairly favours management, says Fawu
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Tiger Brands will hold a shareholders' meeting today to approve its black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction, but the JSE-listed food producer is facing a challenge from the Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) which has criticised the deal for benefiting managers more than other employees.
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US - PepsiCo's cost control pays off
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PepsiCo's financial third-quarter profit rose 9 percent, in part on cost control efforts, as revenue dropped on weak beverage sales, the soft drinks and snack maker said yesterday.
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SABMiller likely to outbid Heineken for Femsa
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SABMiller, the world's second-biggest brewer, would be able to use its stronger balance sheet to outbid Dutch rival Heineken in any showdown for the beer assets of Mexico's Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa), analysts said on Friday.
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Nestlé ditches Mugabe's dairy farm
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Johannesburg – Nestle Zimbabwe last week stopped buying milk from a farm owned by President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace, bowing to pressure from rights groups and the international media that had criticised the food giant’s business dealings with Mugabe’s family.
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Shoprite inflates chief executive's purse
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Shoprite Holdings, South Africa's largest food retailer, boosted chief executive Whitey Basson's pay 45 percent after earnings rose by a quarter amid a retail sales slump.
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Sovereign expansion delivers
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A two-year expansion programme started paying off for Eastern Cape-based poultry producer Sovereign Food Investments, which swung R32m into the black in the half-year to end August.
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Unilever buys Sara Lee soap unit
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Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, on Friday bought Sara Lee’s personal-care and European detergent unit for à 1,28bn, gaining Sanex shower gel in its biggest purchase in nine years. Sara Lee gained 6,4% in New York trading.
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Nationalise the food sector, unions urge
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The food industry, which employs 451 000 people, is now in Cosatu's crosshairs.The labour federation's 10th National Congress next week will debate a proposal to nationalise the food industry, including production, manufacturing and distribution.
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Sovereign expects high interim earnings
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Sovereign Food Investments advised on Friday that headline earnings per share and earnings per share for the six months ended August 31 are expected to be between 160 percent and 180 percent higher than previously.
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SABMiller awarded licence in Namibia
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Global brewing giant SABMiller Plc announced on Tuesday, 8 September 2009, that it had been granted a license by the Namibian government to brew and bottle beer in Namibia.
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Kraft Foods launches bid for Cadbury
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US giant Kraft Foods on Monday launched a 10.2 billion pound (R127 billion) takeover bid for Cadbury but the British confectionery maker has rejected the offer, Kraft Foods said.
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AVI: Consumers feel the pinch
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Johannesburg - Food group AVI Limited (AVI) on Monday reported an 8.8% rise in diluted headline earnings per share from continuing operations to 171.5c for the year ended June 2009 from 157.6c a year ago.
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Price surge to sweeten cane farming
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The surge in the world sugar price could prompt South African farmers to reinvest in sugar cane, which has been neglected due to historically low prices and uncertainty over land reform.
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Poultry division's wings clipped
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Afgri had ended talks with Sovereign Foods earlier this year because it did not want its chicken business to grow disproportionately bigger than the rest of the group, chief executive Chris Venter said yesterday.
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Tiger Brands to sell further 10% stake to black investors
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The black participants include strategic black partners, black managers and general staff employed by Tiger Brands and its wholly-owned subsidiaries ("the Tiger Brands Group"), the Thusani Trust (which is currently focused on assisting with the tertiary education requirements of the immediate families of the black employees of the Tiger Brands Group), and the Tiger Brands Foundation, a new trust established for the benefit of broad-based regional and community groups.
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JSE to delist Country Foods
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Country Foods said on Friday it has decided not to appeal against the JSE's decision to delist the company on September 14.
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Dairy industry: pressure on
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Johannesburg - The probe into possible anti-competitive activity in the dairy industry by the Competition Commission will continue.
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New labelling 'will raise food costs'
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Food prices would rise when food manufacturers started changing the labels to comply with the new regulations on food labelling and advertising, Jannie de Villiers, the executive director of the SA Chamber of Baking, said at the weekend.
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SABMiller unit wins East Africa beer war in court
|
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The agreement between SABMiller and Diageo, which effectively determines the competitive landscape of the beer industry in Tanzania and Kenya, is set to remain in place until January 2011 following yesterday's ruling by a London High Court.
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Tongaat sale: Anglo pockets R4bn
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Anglo American on Thursday announced successful exit from its Tongaat Hulett shareholding, realising gross proceeds of about R4.2bn ($523m).
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Nestle posts fall in profit
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Nestle posts 2 pct fall in first-half net profit.Nestle SA has posted a 2 percent fall in first-half net profit as divestments and the strength of the Swiss franc weighed on sales.
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Deal to up Tongaat's liquidity
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Anglo American plc's announcement that it is to offer for sale to institutional investors its entire existing holding of 51.2 million Tongaat Hulett ordinary shares is an opportunity to increase the liquidity of Tongaat's listed equity and enhance the extent and spread of local and foreign shareholders, Tongaat Hulett CEO Peter Staude said Wednesday.
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Tea giant to be cut down to size
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Johannesburg - Competition Tribunal decision last week clearing the way for Rooibos Limited to be prosecuted for anticompetitive conduct might yet have global ramifications for the marketing and supply of South Africa's famous indigenous herbal tea.
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Pineapple producer changes tack
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SA’s only pineapple-processing plant — the largest in the southern hemisphere — has turned its business around by switching to production of pineapple concentrate.
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Kraft Foods profit rises
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Kraft Foods said on Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose 11 percent even though its revenue slipped as the dollar's strength weighed down international sales.
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MillerCoors toasts to profit
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Global brewing giant SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Company on Monday reported double-digit profit growth for MillerCoors on a pro forma basis for the quarter ended June.
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Tongaat Hulett looks north for growth
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Tongaat Hulett, the agriculture and property development business that almost doubled operating profit in the six months to June, expects its Zimbabwe and Mozambique operations to be vital growth areas in the near future.
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Shebeen smackdown hurts SAB
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Global beer brewer SABMiller has blamed "constraints on the sale" of alcohol in the Western Cape, and the introduction of competition, for losing market share in the South African beer market in the quarter to June.
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Cartels face consumer lawsuits
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Johannesburg - African price-fixing offenders such as Tiger Brands and Sasol may face consumer- inspired class action suits running into hundreds of millions of rands.
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Unilever's ruthless cost slashing pays
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In January, Gail Klintworth, the chairwoman of Unilever South Africa, was extremely unpopular. That is among her senior staff who were told there would be no salary increases this year.
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UK first as Cadbury Dairy Milk takes Fairtrade further into mainstream
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Cadbury Dairy Milk launched its new Fairtrade-certified chocolate bars last week, becoming the first mass market chocolate to gain certification from the Fairtrade Foundation. The independent FAIRTRADE Mark appears prominently on the new packaging, and will bring the logo into millions more homes in the UK for the first time.
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Illovo: Reduce holdings, JPMorgan advises
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Investors should reduce their holdings of Illovo Sugar, JPMorgan advised yesterday. Illovo had plans to sell 108.3 million shares to existing investors at R27.69 each to fund expansion outside of South Africa, the sugar producer said last week.
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SABMiller seeks ban on Diageo plan
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SABMiller would seek a UK court injunction against plans by Diageo to end a brewing and distribution deal with its Tanzanian unit and acquire control of a local rival, the world's second-largest brewer said yesterday.
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Tiger Brands pays 'too much'
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Johannesburg- Food giant Tiger Brands had to defend pay hikes for directors at the company's annual shareholders meeting on Monday.
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Sunlight comes out tops
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There was much celebration and jubilation at Unilever when the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) reversed its ruling, and Sunlight 2 in 1 washing powder was declared honest and trustworthy in its claims.
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Country Bird’s way open to Sovereign
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SA’s third-largest poultry firm, Country Bird , could acquire Sovereign Foods after the collapse of a plan by agricultural services group Afgri to reverse- list a subsidiary housing its food and edible oil businesses into Sovereign.
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Johnson & Johnson embarks on major upgrade
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New technology upgrades are under way at the Johnson & Johnson manufacturing facility in East London as the plant gears up to incorporate two new production lines from Cape Town.
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Rainbow to upgrade facilities
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Poultry stalwart Rainbow Chicken will embark on a multimillion-rand project to upgrade and rebuild its broiler houses in Kwazulu-Natal and will also consider using the expertise of local companies Chemvet and Technopol in revolutionising its facilities.
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Massmart dented by investors
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Shares in South Africa's biggest general retailer Massmart fell 3 percent in early Thursday trade after it said it expects to report a drop in full-year headline earnings per share.
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Beverages: Distell buys €3m French chateau
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Distell had spent e3 million (R35m) on acquiring a French chateau where it would produce its recently acquired cognac brand, Bisquit, the wine and spirits conglomerate said yesterday.
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ASA compels Unilever to recall laundry soap
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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered detergent maker Unilever to remove its Sunlight 2 in 1 washing powder from shelves until it provides adequate evidence that it is made from pure and natural ingredients and that it softens fabrics.
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Natela chews off Beechies from Kraft Foods
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Beechies chewing gum has been bought by Natela Importers from Kraft Foods in a deal that will enable Kraft to focus on its core brands and give Natela entry to a new confectionery category.
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SABMiller to brew cassava beer
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Angolans will soon drink pints of beer made from cassava, as brewing giant SABMiller says it's developing a new lager made from the tubular root that is the staple of the local diet.
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Consol to pack up plastics unit
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Glass packaging specialist Consol, owned by investment group Brait, is in discussions with employees at its Wadeville-based plastics packaging operation about the possible closure of the business.
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UK uncorks more SA wine despite low demand
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Despite reports of falling demand for wine in the UK, exports of South African wines to that country rose by 27 percent in the year to April, according to Wines of South Africa (Wosa), which represents the industry overseas.
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SABMiller ‘looking hard’ at costs
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Global brewer SABMiller yesterday said it was responding to the downturn and competition with an aggressive group-wide cost-cutting programme, reviewing capital expenditure while intensifying marketing efforts to grow volumes in its geographical footprint stretching across 75 countries in six continents.
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Marlboro owner to buy SA brands
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New York - Philip Morris International said Thursday it has agreed to buy Swedish Match AB's South African operations for R1.75bn, or roughly $222m.
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SABMiller 'shows how well it understands its market'
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SABMiller will put 10 percent of its R60 billion local SAB operation into the hands of employees and customers, in an innovative, broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction that is guaranteed to enrich the beneficiaries.
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SABMiller announces R6bn BEE deal
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SABMiller (SAB), one of the world's largest brewers, on Wednesday announced a proposed broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction worth about R6-billion, which will place about 10% of the company's shares under black ownership.
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AVI hopes for higher earnings
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Consumer brands group AVI on Monday said that its consolidated headline earnings per share for its continuing operations for the year ending June 30 2009 were expected to increase by between 5% and 10% over the headline earnings per share for the year ended June 30 2008.
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Pioneer freezes its case on price-fixing
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Pioneer Foods' sudden decision to close its case before the competition tribunal was based on the group's view that Sasko had contravened the Competition Act in the Western Cape, Andre Hanekom, the managing director of Pioneer Foods, which owns Sasko Bakery, said yesterday.
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Pioneer sticks to its guns
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Pioneer Foods maintained its innocence in involvement in the 2006 price-fixing scandal under more harsh cross-examination at the Competition Tribunal in Pretoria on Tuesday.
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KWV becomes Capevin
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JSE-listed KWV Investments, the firm that houses an investment in Stellenbosch-based liquor giant Distell, will change its name to Capevin Investments.
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Sasko boss denies knowing of cartel
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Sasko’s GM for the baking division, Andries Goosen, yesterday pleaded ignorance to the group’s alleged participation in violations of competition law through price-fixing and division of bread markets.
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Heineken adds to brew
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Heineken NV will add a malting plant to its Sedibeng brewery to be completed later this year.
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Tongaat: Zim will have big impact
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Sugar group Tongaat Hulett (TON) on Thursday said that it intended to consolidate its Zimbabwe sugar operations in its financial statements in 2009.
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Tribunal told of bakers’ secret pricing plot
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Lavery was testifying on the first day of the Competition Tribunal’s public hearings on anticompetitive conduct in the bread market.He said bakeries’ representatives met in hotels to discuss their collusion, and exchanged market- sensitive information. They decided on the bread price rises and dates on which they took effect.
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Heineken plans to malt barley
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Heineken was in talks to build a barley malting plant at its new local brewery and a deal was expected soon, a company official said yesterday.
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Small middlemen have Coke for Africa
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Coca-Cola has found and developed a unique recipe to sell its products in Africa, particularly in under-serviced areas where roads are poor and trucks cannot get through.
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Pioneer ready for its bread cartel hearing
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Pioneer Foods "wants its day in court", managing director Andre Hanekom said yesterday after the date was set for Pioneer and the competition commission to appear before the competition tribunal.
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Wine hopes to score with Bafana
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Bafana Bafana cannot exactly boast a display cabinet full of trophies, but Orange River Wine Cellars will see to it that South Africa's soccer team label graces the labels of some of its wine bottles.
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Chicken feed starves Rainbow
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Johannesburg - JSE-listed Rainbow Chicken said efforts to diversify its product range have helped the group maintain its profitability during difficult times.
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Sharp rise in food imports
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South Africa imported over 40% more agricultural products last year than it did the year before, according to the department of agriculture.
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Rainbow Chicken chokes on cost of feed
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South Africa's biggest processor and marketer of chicken, Rainbow Chicken, reported a tough year to March, with headline earnings declining nearly 40 percent due to a R153 million unrealised loss in respect of feed raw material procurement.
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SA toilet paper 'too short'
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Johannesburg - Regulators on Monday warned the public about toilet paper being too short, following an investigation in Gauteng.
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Is this the future of food? Japanese 'plant factory' churn out immaculate vegetables
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They look more like the brightly lit shelves of a chemists shop than the rows of a vegetable garden.But according to their creators, these perfect looking vegetables could be the future of food.In a perfectly controlled and totally sterile environment - uncontaminated by dirt, insects or fresh air - Japanese scientists are developing a new way of growing vegetables.
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World says cheers to SA wines
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Johannesburg - International demand for South African wines has topped domestic needs for the first time, said export marketing agent Wines of South Africa (Wosa).
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SABMiller to use African crops
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SABMiller plans to grab some of sub-Saharan Africa's $3 billion (R24bn) home-brew market with cheaper beers made from domestic crops such as sorghum and cassava.
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CBH hikes Sovereign stake
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Poultry producer Country Bird Holdings (CBH) confirmed on Monday night that it had pushed its stake in rival company Sovereign Food Investments to almost 23%.
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Generation Next: A new style of cool
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Sunday Times Generation Next Survey results are out! The coolest brands have been revealed! Last night, at a lavish awards ceremony at The Venue, Melrose Arch, the coolest of the coolest brands were given the thumbs up as well as a slice of the limelight.
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Illovo aims to catch up with R2.6bn Mali project
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Deadlines on Illovo Sugar's project in Mali have repeatedly been extended and it is now almost two years behind schedule. The project will include a sugar mill and an ethanol plant, and will generate electricity.
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More power to the consumer
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Johannesburg - Big businesses that have long been fleecing South African consumers will have their wings clipped after the establishment of the National Consumer Commission (NCC).
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Tiger gets mayo scoop
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Nutrition, health and wellness group Nestlé, said on Friday that it had concluded the sale of its South African Crosse & Blackwell mayonnaise business to consumer foods group Tiger Brands.
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Sovereign in Country Bird's sights
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Chicken producer Country Bird, which has secretly built a 13.4% stake in Sovereign Foods in which competitor Afgri wants to reverse list its foods business, now wants to acquire the whole company.
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Beverages - Crunch enhances wine sales to US
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Bulk sales of South African wines to the US market, the biggest in the world, have risen in recent months as a result of the meltdown, according to exporter Andrew Shearer, the chief executive of Cape Classics.
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Tiger: Tough conditions to persist
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Food group Tiger Brands on Tuesday reported a 16% decline in diluted headline earnings per share of 624.5 cents for the six months ended March 2009 from 739.5c a year ago. An interim dividend of 245c per share was declared, which is in line with that of 2008.
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SABMiller's sales growth disappoints
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SABMiller reported sales growth that was less than analysts estimated as demand in emerging markets slumped in the fourth quarter and commodity costs rose.
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Afgri crows about deal with Sovereign
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Afgri, the JSE-listed agricultural business is to reverse list Afgri Foods, housing Afgri's poultry operations, feed milling and edible oils businesses, into Sovereign Food Investments.
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Country Bird takes Sovereign stake
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Chicken producer Country Bird Holdings (CBH) has taken a peck at another listed poultry business, announcing on Thursday night that it had snapped up a 13.4% stake in Uitenhage-based Sovereign Food Investments.
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Astral: Recovery in profitability
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Food group Astral Foods (ARL) on Wednesday reported diluted headline earnings per share of 405c for the six months ended March, down 41% from 686c a year ago.
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Spanish wine makers hunting for buyers as slump hits prices
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Pancho Campo knows of between 30 and 40 Spanish wineries up for sale. The founder of The Wine Academy of Spain and the first Spaniard to be awarded the title of master by the Institute of Masters of Wine believes the recession sweeping Spain will trigger a shake-up of its fragmented wine industry, pushing many smaller players to ruin.
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No quick fix for high food prices
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Food prices are unlikely to come down dramatically any time soon, Absa AgriBusiness said on Friday.
While this was bad news for consumers, it was good news for the country's agricultural industry.
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Scrapped AVI offer thins earnings
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Tiger Brands expected a rise of between 5 percent and 9 percent in first-half headline earnings per share from continuing operations, it said yesterday, sending its shares lower.
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Food pricier in SA
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A "local culprit" is responsible for South Africa's high food inflation rate, Solidarity trade union said on Tuesday.It said it had done a study of international inflation trends which showed South Africa's food inflation rate was consistently higher than that of similar countries.
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New law gives consumers power
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Johannesburg - The Consumer Protection Bill has been signed into law by President Kgalema Motlanthe, the department of trade and industry (dti) said on Thursday.
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Parmalat announces new COO
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Parmalat S.p.A., the Italian dairy company that owns Parmalat SA, yesterday announced the appointment of Nick Wentzel as Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Parmalat SA.
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Pioneer Food expects high interim earnings
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Pioneer Food Group said on Wednesday, 29 April, that for the six months ended March 2009 its headline earnings are expected to be between 163 to 172 cents per share compared with 144 cents per share in 2008 - or between 13% and 19% higher.
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Dairy shortage expected
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Cape Town - Dairy farmers are feeling sour about the situation in their industry where processors say they expect shortages of certain dairy products, while farmers are being inadequately compensated for their wares.
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Parmalat CEO resigns
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PARMALAT SA (PTY) LTD CEO, Theo Hendrickse announced his resignation on 23 April.
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In terminal decline
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The liquor and advertising industries are bracing themselves for next month, when government is expected to say whether it will forge ahead with plans to ban alcohol advertising.
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P&G to offload Pringles ,Braun
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FAST-moving consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) is to hand its Pringles and Braun brands to a local company in order to improve sales of the two brands.
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PepsiCo offers US$ 6 billion for shares in bottlers
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PepsiCo wants to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock it does not already own in its two largest anchor bottlers, The Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas, at a value of US$29.50 (EUR22.70) per share for The Pepsi Bottling Group and US$23.27 (EUR17.91) per share for PepsiAmericas.
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Foodcorp lends a helping hand to Cotlands
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Leading FMCG giant Foodcorp recently donated R50 000 to Cotlands, a non profit organisation, which supports South African children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
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No longer drowning their sorrows
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Brewing giant SABMiller reported a 1 percent fall in fourth-quarter worldwide underlying beer volumes on Thursday as economic conditions deteriorated and consumer demand fell in most of its markets.
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Mars spends millions on sustainable cocoa
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Mars has pledged to produce a significant proportion of its cocoa supply in a sustainable manner by 2020. Mars, Incorporated has already invested well over $10 million in each of the past several years in its efforts to achieve sustainable cocoa production.
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Illovo makes strategic disposals
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South African sugar producer Illovo Sugar on Thursday, 9 April 2009, announced strategic disposals, investments and changes in structure, which will result in a more focused and streamlined South African business, while increasing the group's footprint and future earnings potential in the rest of Africa.
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P&G is recruiting staff it can nurture
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Unlike many South African companies, fast-moving consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) is seeking to enhance its workforce instead of retrenching during the economic meltdown.
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Sorghum beer revival ahoy!
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Johannesburg - One of the country's producers of sorghum beer has formed an ambitious strategic partnership with a liquor retail industry body that is expected to see more than a thousand small traders begin distributing the African traditional beer to new markets.
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Adcock Ingram: Drug firm signs up for some TLC
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Adcock Ingram has returned to the fast-moving consumer goods market through the acquisition of Tender Loving Care (TLC) for an undisclosed amount, chief executive Jonathan Louw said yesterday.
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Distell purchase takes the Bisquit
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ALCOHOL giant Distell has taken a bold view of luxury spirits in an economic downturn, investing €31m to acquire heritage Cognac brand Bisquit from French group Pernod Ricard. Distell MD Jan Scannell says as the group’s first international acquisition, the move entrenches Distell into the mainstream international spirits market.
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Vergelegen reaps red wine rewards
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Anglo American's wine estate, Vergelegen, invested heavily five years ago in a long-term plan to produce a cabernet sauvignon able to compete with the most prestigious in the world.
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Tiger poaches AVI exec
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Cape Town - Tiger Brands may have lost its bid to buy out rival food group AVI, but that has not stopped the consumer brands conglomerate from poaching one of AVI's top executives.
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Astrapak: Asset sale to pay off debt
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Astrapak expects to report a 5 percent to 15 percent drop in annual headline earnings a share and has agreed to sell certain assets in its flexibles division for R183.7 million.
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SABMiller targets cheap beer
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Johannesburg - Brewing giant SABMiller said on Wednesday growth in lager volumes may brake in Africa, one of its top performing regions, next fiscal year as the global crisis reaches the poorest continent.
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SABMiller beer beats Bud Light
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Chinese beer Snow leapt ahead of Bud Light to become the world's biggest selling beer as China stretches its lead as the largest beer market in the world, according to provisional data from researcher Plato Logic.
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Tiger Brands could do more to dispel fishy smell
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There is little doubt that, relative to its partners (or rather its competitors) in the food industry, Tiger Brands has taken more than its share of opprobrium for anti-competitive machinations.And it has to be said that Tiger Brands has taken it all rather well and responded appropriately.
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Sovereign puts faith in power of margins
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Margins in the poultry sector were expected to improve this year due to lower maize prices and higher chicken selling prices, Sovereign Food said last week, after indicating that it had returned to profitability in the second half.
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Rich drink less of good stuff
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Johannesburg - Those who indulge in only the best and most luxurious alcoholic beverages are also feeling the economic downturn.
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Courts take dim view of fraudulent food labels
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DRIZZLING virgin olive oil over a salad took a sour turn for many consumers eight years ago when it was uncovered that the olive oil was not so virgin, having been adulterated by other edible oils.
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Sea Harvest deal gets green light
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Johannesburg - South African food group Tiger Brands (TBS) said on Thursday that unconditional approval for the proposed Sea Harvest transaction was given by the competition tribunal on 25 March.
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Coca-Cola launches new energy drink
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COCA- Cola, which has more than 3000 products in its stable, yesterday launched its latest offering in SA — an energy drink — making SA the sixth country in the world and the first on the continent to taste the new product.
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Canning industry speaks out re tin plate increases
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The recent announcement by ArcelorMittal of its intention to increase the price of tinplate by approximately 70% from April 2009 will pose a severe threat to the future of the South African canning industry.
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SABMiller acquires Vinamilk
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Brewing giant SABMiller has signed an agreement with its JV partner, Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk), to acquire Vinamilk's 50% interest in SABMiller Vietnam JV Company Limited, the group said on Friday, 20 March 2009.
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Nestlé opens new production line
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Food company Nestlé SA today officially opened a new production line as part of its factory expansion, valued at R345 million, in Harrismith in the Free State.
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Dairy case to go ahead
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The Competition Tribunal said on Wednesday, 18 March 2009, that although it ruled that two summonses issued by the Competition Commission against Woodlands and Milkwood milk processors in the Clover milk price fixing case were void for being "vague and overbroad", it had imposed a novel remedy in the case.
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Coca-Cola may abandon China juice acquisition
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Coca-Cola may abandon a 2,4-billion-dollar acquisition of China’s top juice company Huiyuan after learning it might not be allowed to keep the iconic brand, the Financial Times said today.
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SAB Ltd water measures help global reduction targets
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The South African Breweries (SAB) Ltd has set itself a target to reduce water consumption by at least 10% in the coming few years. In so doing, it aims to support the SABMiller plc objective of reducing water consumption across the group by 25%.
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Competition sinners pay R226m
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Cape Town - The Competition Commission has collected R226.3m in fines from companies being punished for breaking the laws on uncompetitive behaviour since June 2007.
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SABMiller brews up scheme to beat competition
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Brewing giant SABMiller is to cut costs sharply in its most profitable market of South Africa to boost marketing ahead of the opening of a rival brewery this year just south of Johannesburg.
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Ferrero to proceed with growth of local factory
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Italian-owned confectionery group Ferrero will commission a tenfold expansion of its Johannesburg factory space in April as an investment decision made years before the global financial crisis takes effect.
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Jobs in peril at Clover - Solidarity
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More than 90 jobs are in peril as dairy company Clover plans to close down its Wesselsbron cheese factory, the trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday, 11 March 2009.
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Milk in a new guise boosts exports
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WITH the country experiencing its largest milk surplus in more than a decade last year, shrewd South African dairy companies have begun exploring new product lines and markets.
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KWV to unbundle
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Cape Town - Paarl-based liquor group KWV Limited will unbundle its own wine and brandy manufacturing operations, according to a cautionary announcement released with the publication of its interim results on Wednesday night.
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AVI: Demand for brands strong
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Johannesburg -Food group AVI on Monday reported diluted headline earnings per share from continuing operations of 102 cents per share - up 11% from 91.5c a year ago.
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Cadbury's new ingredient for business plays fair
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What is Cadbury playing at? The UK-based confectionery group has been through a painful restructuring, cutting hundreds of jobs, abandoning its expensive central London headquarters and freezing the salaries of 150 senior managers.
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AVI unable to pass on input price rises
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Manufacturer AVI had been unable to fully pass on higher food input prices to the consumer sector, the group said on Monday, after differences between the government and industry over high food prices heightened last week.
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Procter & Gamble to invest R200m in local plant
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In a major coup for the Department of Trade and Industry’ s industrial development drive, US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble will be establishing capacity in SA for the manufacture of disposable nappies.
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Health food expensive - survey
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Johannesburg - While 98% of South Africans who took part in a new study do not think healthy food is boring, 62% believes healthy food is more expensive.
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Questions over ratings as Coke publishes carbon footprint
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One is a fruit drink made by a boutique company with a clutch of foodie awards and an impeccable ethical brand, which even boasts a halo on its logo. The other is a fizzy pop, famous for rotting teeth, made by a corporate giant almost synonymous with globalisation.But when it comes to the environmental issue of the moment - the carbon footprint of their products - the bottle of Innocent smoothie comes off worse than a can of Coke. At least at first glance.
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Minister slams big food firms
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Johannesburg - Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana slammed food companies and dealers that were cashing in at the expense of the poor.
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Tiger Brands withdraws from proposed AVI deal
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Tiger Brands today announced that after careful consideration by the Board, it has decided not to pursue the proposed transaction with AVI and to withdraw from further discussions.
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Fruit juice an international success story
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THE Ceres Beverage Company, a division of food company Pioneer, aims to reach double-digit annual growth as it seeks to extend its reach into Africa, North America and Asian countries.
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Economy melts Cadbury
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Cadbury, the British maker of confectionery, said on Wednesday its net profit dropped by ten percent to £364m in 2008.Cadbury, which makes Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident chewing gum, added in a statement that it expected revenue growth in 2009 to be at the lower end of its forecast 4%-6% range as a result of the global economic slowdown.
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Tongaat set to invest R470m
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AGRICULTURAL processing and land management group Tongaat Hulett, which yesterday posted a sound set of results for the year to December, plans to invest R470m to complete projects in Mozambique.
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Sugar ops sweeten Tongaat profit
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Johannesburg - Sugar producer Tongaat Hulett on Monday reported diluted headline earnings per share of 554.1c for the year ended December 2008 from 56.8c a year ago.
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Pioneer plans to 'pass on savings'
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Food producer Pioneer Foods, which is yet to face charges of collusion in the price-fixing scandal, said on Friday it was concerned about the consumers’ plight and would not hesitate to pass on savings where it was able.
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Dodgy dairy heads to SA
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Cape Town - Foreign dairy producers seem to regard South Africa as a soft target for dodgy products, managing director of the Milk Producers' Organisation Etienne Terreblanche said on Thursday.
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PepsiCo won’t forfeit margin for volume
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PepsiCo South Africa, which will relaunch the Mountain Dew brand at the end of the week, had gained a fizzy drink "grocery" market share of "between 5 percent and 10 percent" and was "on track" to be profitable by the end of this year, the group said yesterday.
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Country Foods shareholders reject new board
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Roberto Casaletti, a former chief executive of cash-strapped Country Foods, failed to regain operational control of the group on Monday after shareholders rejected a proposal that he and two allies be appointed to the board, said chairman Vusi Zwane.
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Real profit growth forecast this year
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Tiger Brands, South Africa's largest food company, may achieve "real" profit growth in the 2009 fiscal year as falling commodity prices cut food costs.
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China clears milk products
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Chinese quality investigators have found that milk products from a unit of France’s Groupe Danone SA are melamine-free and also said an unapproved additive used by one of China’s largest dairies is safe but was used illegally.
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Greece fines Nestle for market violations
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Greece's competition watchdog on Thursday said it had fined Swiss nutrition group Nestle over 29 million euros for "abusing" its dominant position in the instant coffee market.
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Poultry sector recovering
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INTEGRATED poultry, stock feed and beef business Country Bird Holdings yesterday announced a 24% rise in operating profit to R96,6m for the half-year to December from R78,2m for the comparable period a year ago.
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Profit expected to add 35%
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Tongaat Hulett expected profit for the year to December to increase by 35 percent, the producer of sugar cane and maize said on Friday.
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New Unilever CEO scraps targets
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Unilever CEO Paul Polman yesterday scrapped the company’s forecast after a month on the job, saying targets were “inappropriate” amid declining economic growth and volatile commodity prices.
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Chips down for potatoes
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Cape Town - While potato producers are turning their backs on the industry, Potatoes SA is asking why the sharp declines in the producer price of potatoes are not being passed on to consumers.
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Unilever profits jump
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Anglo-Dutch food and cosmetic group Unilever on Thursday reported a 51-percent jump in net earnings in the fourth quarter to €1.19 billion (R15 billion).
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Simba CEO to head up PepsiSA
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Lauren Siebrits, Chief Executive Officer of Simba, PepsiCo's snack business in South Africa, has also been appointed to take over the beverage business, Pepsi South Africa.
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South African wine industry ages well
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Smooth and elegant with a medley of tastes as diverse as the terroir which yields it, South Africa's wine industry has proved it ages well 350 years after grapes were first pressed in the Cape.
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SAB buys into Romanian brewer
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Johannesburg - Brewing giant SABMiller plc (SAB) announced on Wednesday that its Romanian subsidiary, Ursus Breweries, has acquired a 71% interest in the Romanian brewer Bere Azuga.
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Tiger in potential offer for AVI
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Johannesburg - Food giant Tiger Brands confirmed on Monday that it has made further formal communication with the board of consumer products group AVI regarding a potential offer.
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WOSA fully behind USAPA, says Su Birch
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WOSA CEO Su Birch said her organisation was fully behind the newly formed USA Producers’ Association (USAPA), which held its first public meeting in Stellenbosch this week (January 20).
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Cigarette buyers beware
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Johannesburg - The minimum age for buying and selling tobacco products has been raised to 18 years.
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Competition probe irregular, dairies insist
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Senior counsel for the Competition Commission yesterday rubbished a bid by dairy companies Milkwood and Woodlands to have a case of cartel activity against them dropped on the basis of technical and legal flaws in the commission’s investigation.
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Local gourmet mushroom production a third of benchmark European rate
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Nouvelle Mushrooms, South Africa’s only bulk producer of gourmet cultivars, has expanded to produce at a third of the benchmark European rate. Taking cue from market leader CNC Exotic Mushrooms, its Holland-based technical partner, Nouvelle now produces 1,200 kg of gourmet mushrooms per week, and the figure is set to double again by the end of 2009.
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Cape milk processor turns on rivals
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A COMPANY implicated in a dairy industry cartel has turned against its rivals, agreeing to testify against them in a hearing to start before the Competition Tribunal today .
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Cheap labels boost SABMiller sales
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Cape Town - SABMiller sold more beer to South Africans this festive season, but drinkers continued to trade down from premium brands because of the tougher economy, the global brewer said yesterday.
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Consumers feel the bite
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Sweet-toothed consumers have been left with a bitter taste in their mouths as the price of chocolate climbs. It has risen by 30%-40% over the past two years, according to Pick n Pay figures.
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SAB pulls out all stops to stay on top
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South African Breweries (SAB) dominated launches in the local beer and flavoured alcoholic beverage market last year after it launched four new products aimed at the premium segment.
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Shoppers Ignore Two Thirds of Packages on Shelves. (Ouch!)
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The staggering fact that confronts packaging designers and brand managers is that, according to some pretty extensive research, shoppers never even notice two-thirds of the products on shelves. And that’s when they’re actively looking for something in that category. Products do even worse with shoppers who are just casually browsing a particular aisle.
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Retail stress allows for shifting the balance of power to suppliers
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The last thing that the retail sector needed was a real sub-zero wind chill factor to accompany the economic one that has had us in its icy grip since the balmy days of August. Most shoppers did not need an excuse to stay at home in January, but for those that did, they now have one!
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Unilever Tea delists after buyout
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Nairobi - Kenya's Nairobi Stock Exchange has delisted Unilever Tea Kenya shares after its main shareholder, Brooke Bond, bought out minority shareholders, the bourse said in a statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
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Tribunal still after Pioneer
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Food company Pioneer Foods is the only remaining company of four originally implicated in a bread price-fixing cartel still to appear before the Competition Tribunal.
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Foodcorp implicated in price fixing
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Johannesburg - Foodcorp will pay a R45 million fine to the Competition Commission after a price-fixing admission, the Commission said on Monday.
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No formal offer from Tiger Brands: AVI
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Johannesburg - AVI - the company behind brands such as Five Roses, Bakers, Ciro, Frisco and Willards - has not yet received a formal bid from Tiger Brands.
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Spice maker aims to fill the gaps
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SPICE manufacturer Walker Bay Spice Works aims to double turnover after increasing infrastructure and restructuring its sales staff.
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Grain down, eggs up in PPI surprises
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Lower oil, grain and iron ore prices brought in a better-than- expected November producer price index of 12.6 percent, well down from August’s peak of 19.1 percent.
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Coke, Pepsi to launch drinks with natural sweetener
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Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo Inc said yesterday they received US regulatory clearance for natural, calorie-free sweeteners derived from the stevia plant and planned to launch new soft drinks in the coming weeks.
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SABMiller fights India's beer rules
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SABMiller, which is challenging state governments in India to loosen the rules on beer sales, said yesterday profit in the country might double if it won a court case.
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No fear for beer this Christmas
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This year the country's thirst will probably stay slaked throughout the festive season, as no shortage of soft drinks or beer is expected.
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SA bans EU meat and dairy imports
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South Africa's Department of Agriculture announced that it was suspending imports of all meat and dairy products from the European Union due to the discovery of dioxin in Irish meat products.
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Country Bird crows ‘victory’
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Listed poultry farmers Country Bird Holdings and Astral Foods have achieved a commercial settlement in their long-standing dispute over a joint venture in a chicken-breeding operation, which Country Bird regards as anticompetitive.
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Judge curdles processor for trying to dodge law
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Judge Dennis Davis expressed his "irritation" at milk processor Clover this week for previously admitting to an anti-competitive charge in return for leniency and then attempting to use technical legal arguments to slip away from the same charge.
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Brewer tries to woo Indians
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FACED with a small beer market, low consumption but a huge population, brewery giant SABMiller is working hard to enhance beer’s appeal in India for long-term benefits.
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Pioneer hit with R100m egg claim
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Johannesburg - Pioneer Foods faces a legal claim of almost R100m from a group of disgruntled egg producers, as well as a possible new investigation by the competition authorities.
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Pioneer bitten by rising costs
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Johannesburg - Rising input costs have hit the profit of Pioneer Foods - a major player in the food and beverage industries in Southern Africa, the company said on Monday.
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Milking export markets
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SA is experiencing its biggest milk surplus in over a decade. Availability is about 20% above national requirements - the result of increased production to meet a projected milk shortage that never materialised, an economic downturn that has curtailed consumer buying power, and cheap imports by retail chains and milk processors.
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Nestle changes its tune
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A trade withdrawal has been issued on two batches of infant milk formula after they were found to contain traces of melamine.
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Tiger Brands weighs options on AVI offer
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TIGER Brands, the fast-moving branded foods, personal health and home products group that is stalking smaller rival AVI, lifted headline earnings per share from continuing operations 36% to 1194,7c a share in the year to September .
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Why Cobra Beer is up for sale
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Cobra Beer sells itself as being "less gassy" than its rivals, and now some of the fizz appears to have gone out of its fortunes.
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Spiralling costs spoil Nampak’s results
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PACKAGING group Nampak said on Friday that high raw material costs had spoiled its year-end financial results.CE John Bortolan, who retires in March, said “rapid and substantial” increases in raw material prices, electricity, fuel and other input costs more than offset revenue gains.
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Tiger Brands not giving up on AVI deal
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BRANDED consumer goods group AVI’s share price rose than 46% to over R21 in the five days after rival Tiger Brands expressed its intention to acquire it, indicating AVI’s shareholders appear receptive to the idea, says Tiger Brands CEO Peter Matlare.
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Rainbow has big branding plans
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Rainbow Chicken aimed to make frozen poultry bigger than fish in supermarkets, the country's biggest poultry producer said yesterday, arguing that its branding strategy was starting to catch on.
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Afgri Net profit increases 42%
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The net profit of Afgri for the year to June rose 42 percent to R310 million compared with the same period a year ago, the company said yesterday.
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InBev now top world brewer
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InBev has completed its $52 billion (R529 billion) purchase of Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch, creating the world's largest beer manufacturer and giving the Belgian brewer half the US beer market.
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Coronation backs Tiger
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Cape Town - Coronation Fund Managers supported Tiger Brands' R8 billion offer to acquire AVI, creating an African food giant, AVI's biggest shareholder said yesterday.
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Milk farmers start to feel price pressures
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A decline in the international and local demand for dairy products has led to sharp price decreases in the global and South African markets, Etienne Terre’Blanche, MD of the Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO), said today in a statement.
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Judge rejects dairy groups’ appeal
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The Competition Appeal Court yesterday dismissed a bid by five of the largest milk processors to have a case of price-fixing against them thrown out.
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Tiger may face long AVI battle
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Food manufacturer Tiger Brands could be in for a long battle to buy rival AVI, which rejected its R8bn bid yesterday, saying it did not make commercial sense and was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.
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Oceana nets strong results
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OCEANA has posted a robust set of results for the year ended September, driven by better margins on the whole and despite higher input costs, particularly for fuel.
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Younger birds go to market to boost margins
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Astral Foods sold younger birds that were "a bit smaller" in financial 2008 as feeding costs climbed, Nick Wentzel, the chief executive of the country's second-biggest poultry producer, said last week.
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Astral Foods expects better times ahead
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Cape Town - Poultry producer Astral Foods was confident the worst was over as maize feed prices fell and pricing power returned to chicken farmers, Nick Wentzel, the chief executive, said on Friday.
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Fish supply remains firm
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There was still a constant supply of wild fish around the world despite concern about pollution and global warming, and the Oceana Fishing Group was meeting growing demand from export markets in Africa and China, chief executive Andrew Marshall said yesterday.
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Downturn drains SABMiller's glass
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Brewing giant SABMiller reported half-year earnings rose 9 percent on Thursday but warned that deteriorating global economic conditions is causing weakening demand in many of its markets.
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Illovo Sugar 'pleased with results'
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Illovo Sugar posted a 35% rise in first-half headline earnings per share on Thursday, boosted by strong domestic sugar sales, higher world and regional sugar prices and weaker exchange rates.
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Tiger Brands expects improved full year earnings
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Consumer foods group Tiger Brand expects headline earnings per share (HEPS) from continuing operations for the year ended September to reflect an improvement of between 32% and 37% compared to that achieved in the previous financial year.
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'Exotic' SA fruit to suffer
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Cape Town - Apples, oranges and bananas are likely to escape any dip in consumption associated with global recessionary factors, but other types of fruit could become too "exotic" for some consumers to buy, says Capespan executive director Dr Dawie Ferreira.
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Consumers to pay for rights
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Johannesburg - South African consumers will enjoy some of the most extensive protection in the world when the Consumer Protection Bill comes into effect in 2010.
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Competition warden jumps fence to Tiger
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Thulani Kunene, the man who led the competition commission's charge against Tiger Brands for breaching competition law, has joined the food group as its compliance officer.
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Milk producers advised to reduce production
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The current market situation has negatively affected milk sales in the country, leaving milk producers with excess milk no one was buying, the Milk Producers' Organisation (MPO) said in a statement on Monday.
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Interim attributable profit adds 105%
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First-half attributable profit at CIC Holdings lifted 104.5 percent to N$19.4 million (R19.4 million), the AltX listed grocery sales and merchandising agency said at the weekend.
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Tiger takes BEE to sea
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Tiger Brands will facilitate the largest black economic empowerment (BEE) deal so far in the country's fishing industry, the food company said on Friday.
It advised shareholders that it had received a R541 million cash offer from a consortium led by Brimstone, which included key members of Sea Harvest management, to acquire Tiger Brands' 73.16 percent stake in its partly-owned subsidiary company Sea Harvest.
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Distell opens distribution line into eastern Europe
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Distell, which increased its exports by 2 percentage points last year to account for 20 percent of total revenue, has now targeted the eastern European market through an agreement with Polish distributor Kompania Winiarska to represent the group's bestselling liqueur, Amarula Cream, and wine brands.
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Country Bird gets competition nod to buy Nutri Feed
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THE Competition Commission has given its unconditional approval to poultry producer Country Bird Holdings’ R106,6m acquisition of the 50% of Nutri Feed, an animal feed business, that it did not already own.
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Famous Brands toughs it out
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Famous Brands, the quick service restaurant and casual dining franchisor, on Monday reported a 7 percent increase in diluted headline earnings per share to 78 cents for the six months ended August from 73 cents a year ago.
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Fuel for thought
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The sugar industry cannot survive by producing sugar alone but it has a plan that seems likely to get the backing of government: large-scale cogeneration of electricity for the national grid. Capital expenditure for implementation of the industry's plan is estimated at R10bn. The world's largest sugar industry, in Brazil, already derives most of its revenue from energy and fuel.
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SA dept gives Mars clean bill of health
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After rigorous testing of 107 milk brands and milk-based products sold in South Africa, the Department of Health has announced that Mars products such as M&Ms are safe for consumption and can continue to be sold across South Africa.
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Astrapak reviews its operations to lift flagging profit
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Cape Town - Astrapak was reviewing all its operations and target markets to identify underperforming businesses, the packager said yesterday, after confirming that profit had fallen in line with its latest trading update.
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Europe sales drag down Mondi - CEO
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Packaging is a leading indicator of consumer demand and that’s why Mondi’s warning that its profits are likely to dive by up to 15 percent for the year ended December is another signal of a gloomy Christmas for retailers.
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Frozen peas back on SA shelves
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South Africa recently experienced a major shortage of frozen peas. But according to McCain Foods SA, the frozen pea crisis is now over and this sought after vegetable product is once again available in supermarkets across the country.
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Consumer Protection Bill goes before Parliament
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The Consumer Protection Bill 2008, which will introduce principles of consumer protection and serve as a governing statement on consumer protection matters in South Africa, will go before a selected Parliamentary committee on today, Thursday 16 October.
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New thinking needed to avert regional food crisis
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If South Africa did not produce enough maize during the next harvest, it could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe in neighbouring countries such a Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, an agriculture and biofuels consultant has warned.
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SABMiller hails Q2 increase in beer volumes
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London - Brewer SABMiller reported a 1 percent rise in second-quarter worldwide underlying beer volumes on Tuesday, showing half-year (April-September) volumes marginally ahead after a 1.6 percent fall in its first quarter.
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Foodcorp 'comfortably able' to service debt
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Cape Town - Private equity-owned Foodcorp, the country's third-biggest food group, was "comfortably" able to pay its annual interest bill of R280 million to European bondholders despite the weaker rand, chief executive Justin Williamson said at the weekend.
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Cartels: Relief for directors
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Cape Town - Proposed amendments to the Competition Act were relaxed yesterday so that company directors can no longer be prosecuted for cartel activities they "should have known about".
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Tiger Brands swallows up half of Kenya's Haco
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Tiger Brands has acquired a 51 percent shareholding in Kenya's Haco Industries. The food and healthcare firm expected to use the acquisition, whose value was not disclosed, as a springboard into the east Africa region, while Haco viewed the partnership as enabling it to defend its market against cheaper imports.
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All Joy needs new ingredients
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Cape Town - Africa Heritage Investments has its work cut out as the new strategic shareholder at beleaguered condiments maker All Joy Holdings.
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Best Cut: A second half mincing
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Cape Town - Earnings for Best Cut Holdings, the meat producer which reverse listed in January this year, were put through the mincer in the second half of the year to end June.
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Sovereign Food's ratio of debt to equity rises to 170%
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The net debt-to-equity ratio at Sovereign Food climbed to 170 percent after long-term debt tripled to R362 million, the Eastern Cape poultry producer said on Friday. Short-term debt had risen from R32 million a year ago to R118 million on August 31 as working capital sucked up cash flow.
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Tiger Brands disciplines execs
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Durban - Tiger Brands announced on Friday that it had taken disciplinary action against a number of former and current executives in the company for their role in the consumer goods giant's now unbundled health care unit.
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Grim times for All Joy
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Johannesburg - Consumer food brands group All Joy Foods (ALJ) expects headline loss per share for the year ended June to widen by between 860% and 880% over the losses reported a year ago.
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Sovereign's earnings bird is underfed
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South African poultry producer Sovereign Foods on Friday reported a diluted headline loss of 102.9c per share for the 6 months ended August compared with diluted headline earnings per share of 104.7c a year ago. No interim dividend was paid. Revenue was up 28% at R365.2 million.
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Forecasters debate rising cost of meat
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Cape Town - Consumers already bearing the brunt of steep grain prices now faced higher chicken and red meat prices in the run-up to Christmas, Investec Asset Management analyst John Thompson said yesterday.
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Coffee defies commodity slump
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NEVER mind gold or oil, buy coffee. The ‘‘coffee and tea” item in August’s producer price index basket showed the biggest month-on-month jump of 12.6 percent.
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Unemployment haunts SAB's growth plan
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SAB, stung after losing the Amstel brand but nevertheless showing resilience, was concerned that "institutional" unemployment could haunt the economy, outgoing managing director Tony van Kralingen said yesterday.
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Afgri ready for second bite at BEE farming
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Afgri has proposed to re-enter a black economic empowerment (BEE) maize farming business despite closing down a "flawed" empowerment farming scheme that lost R22 million.
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Procter & Gamble looks at building factory in SA
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IN WHAT could be a major coup for the trade and industry department’s industrial development drive, US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble is considering establishing manufacturing capacity in SA.
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New law will enforce labelling of contents of GMO foods
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CAPE TOWN — Labelling of the genetically modified contents of food will become mandatory once the Consumer Protection Bill is implemented, and producers, importers, distributors and retailers will be held liable for any damage these products might cause.
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Country Bird celebrates softer grain costs
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Poultry producer Country Bird expected a margin improvement at its new red meat businesses from next month as softer grain prices started to flow through the animal feeds supply chain, Robbie Taylor, the company’s financial director, said last week.
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New strategy bearing fruit for KWV Group
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KWV, whose wine and brandy is sold under labels like KWV, Laborie, Pearly Bay and Ubuntu, lifted headline earnings from continuing operations by 40percent in the year to June, its 90th anniversary year.
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State rejects warnings on consumer bill
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CAPE TOWN — Warnings of the dire consequences for business if strict product liability were introduced have failed to convince the trade and industry department that such a measure should be left out of the Consumer Protection Bill.
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Trading competition for productivity
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SOUTH African manufacturers need not re-invent the wheel by competing with Asian markets, when they can benefit by trading with them in areas where the local manufacturers do not have a comparative advantage.
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Country Foods weighs its options
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Durban - The future of Country Foods, the wild mushroom exporter, could be decided as early as this week, acting chief executive James Anderson said on Friday.
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It’s all about people, says outgoing Coca-Cola CE
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NEVILLE Isdell is an imposing figure; more than six feet tall and solidly built, he is often referred to in the media as a former rugby player, a reference to his sporting days while at university in SA.
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Country Foods CEO resigns
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Cape Town - It would not be surprising if investors lost their appetite for small food producers on the JSE after this week saw the resignation of founding executives at two recently listed companies.
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Dreher - SAB's answer to the loss of Amstel?
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South African Breweries (SAB) on Tuesday announced the launch of Dreher Premium Lager into the South African market.The beer, which SAB bills as a 'new premium brand', follows the brewer's introduction of Grolsch into the local market in June.
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Stable performance from Sun International in challenging economic climate
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Leading leisure group Sun International has reported an 11% increase in EBITDA and a 3% increase in adjusted headline earnings per share for the year ended 30 June 2008, a period characterized by toughening economic conditions and lower consumer spending, mitigated to a degree by an increase in international visitors.
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Heineken's S&N assets help top up interim earnings 35%
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Heineken, the biggest Dutch brewer, lifted its interim profit by 35 percent to €407 million (R4.6 billion) after raising prices and acquiring Foster's lager and Strongbow cider in the break-up of Scottish & Newcastle (S&N).
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Consumers to get new rights
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Cape Town - The National Council of Provinces on Thursday passed the Consumer Protection bill, which establishes a national consumer commission which will investigate complaints and enforce the requirements of the law.
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Fresh things to think about
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While most modern fresh produce is kept far too cool to blush (or spoil) following stringent food quality regulations, there are a number of new and interconnected reasons for consumers to be embarrassed about their demand for perfect fresh produce.
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Tongaat-Hulett land set aside for housing
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Plans are underway to expropriate at least 1 200 hectares of a Durban sugar-cane plantation, owned by Tongaat-Hulett, for low-income housing, the eThekwini municipality said on Wednesday.
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Falling index bad news for SA's growth
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Hugo Pienaar, an economist at the University of Stellenbosch's Bureau for Economic Research (BER), said yesterdat that an indication of future performance came from the Investec/BER purchasing manager's index (PMI), which fell to 42.8 percent last month from 43.8 percent in June.
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Dirty water used on fruit, vegetables
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CAPE TOWN — Stellenbosch University scientists are investigating the levels of harmful bacteria on locally grown fruit and vegetables, hoping to establish a link between the bugs on the food and contaminated river water used for irrigating crops.
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State plan to beef up clothing and textiles
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AN ACTION plan to recapitalise and upgrade the clothing and textiles sector is to be launched in November, just a month before quotas on Chinese clothing and textiles imports expire.
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Water unit sold to boost beer focus
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SABMiller, the world's third-largest brewer, has agreed to sell its Colombian bottled water business and assets to Coca-Cola for $92 million (R682 million) to focus on brewing and distributing beer and malted beverages in the region.
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SABMiller fills 10% of Allan Gray's JSE pie
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Cape Town - The Allan Gray Equity Fund had invested in SABMiller to such an extent since 2005 that the stake now made up 10 percent of its JSE investments, the fund manager said yesterday.
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Bid to revive farm investment
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AGRICULTURE and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana says SA has to become a net exporter of agricultural products, “ the way it used to be”.
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SABMiller fills 10% of Allan Gray's JSE pie and sells water unit.
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SABMiller, the world's third-largest brewer, has agreed to sell its Colombian bottled water business and assets to Coca-Cola for $92 million (R682 million) to focus on brewing and distributing beer and malted beverages in the region.At the same time The Allan Gray Equity Fund had invested in SABMiller to such an extent since 2005 that the stake now made up 10 percent of its JSE investments, the fund manager said yesterday.
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Coke's biggest new launch in 20 years
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Cola South Africa has launched Coca-Cola Zero in what is the Coca-Cola Company's biggest global product launch in 20 years. The global launch strategy will include TV, Outdoor, Radio, digital, PR and sampling for over half a million consumers.
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Tongaat revs up power co-generation talks
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Cape Town - Tongaat Hulett's commercial negotiations with Eskom about selling co-generated electricity into the grid were moving "quite quickly", Tongaat Hulett chief executive Peter Staude said yesterday.
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Market swimming in rooibos tea
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There is a sea of rooibos tea at the moment, with some farmers in Western Cape leaving crops in the field because it is not worth their while to harvest them, Rooibos Limited MD Martin Bergh has confirmed.
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Tongaat turns loss to profit at interim stage
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AGRICULTURAL processing and land management group Tongaat Hulett is fast-tracking the planning of renewable power generation at four of its eight sugar mills because of predictions “that electricity demand in SA will exceed generating capacity for a five- to seven-year period”.
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Tiger Brands names three new executive directors to its board
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Tiger Brands named three new executive directors to its board last week, including the second black member this year, to beef up its depleted executive team after the exodus of top management following the company's bread price-fixing scandal.
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Neighbours help lift profit forecast
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Tongaat-Hulett, the agri-processing business that includes integrated components of land management, property development and agriculture, expected first-half profit from operations to increase by 44 percent to R443 million, it said yesterday.
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SABM dip sees shares fall flat
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London - Brewing giant SABMiller reported a below-forecast 1.6% fall in first-quarter underlying beer volumes and warned of challenging trading in South Africa, sending its shares lower.
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Bottled water 'can harm health'
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Johannesburg - South African bottled water may not be as fresh and crystal clear as a mountain spring - and often has high counts of common bacteria potentially harmful to people with weakened immune systems, The Star reported on Wednesday.
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Tiger to spend R4bn on raising capacity
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Tiger Brands will spend about R4 billion over the next five years as it seeks to expand into products such as soap and hand creams locally and invest outside its home market.
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Fruit exporters in a fix
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Franschhoek - South African fruit exporters are losing out because of inefficiencies in cold storage that also threaten plans to expand exports to Asia, a senior industry official said on Friday.
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Simba's roar softens despite resilience to downturn
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Simba expected volume growth to slow to single digits this year, yet investment in expanding capacity remained necessary to meet peak festive season demand, new chief executive Lauren Siebrits said on Friday.
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Tiger Brands buys Cameroon firm
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Johannesburg - Food and healthcare company Tiger Brands said on Thursday it had acquired a 74.4% stake in Cameroon chocolate manufacturer Chococam.
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Soaring fertiliser prices hit farmers
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Fertiliser prices had more than doubled this year, leading to expectations that maize and wheat farmers would face a substantial profit squeeze, the government's National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) said yesterday.
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Tiger Brands gives Baxter option to buy in
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CAPE TOWN — Tiger Brands has signed an agreement giving Swiss group Baxter Healthcare the option to buy a stake in its soon to be unbundled health-care subsidiary Adcock Ingram, a deal potentially worth R4,8bn, the fast-moving consumer goods retailer said yesterday.
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EU weighs ban on SA ostrich meat
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THE European Union (EU), the main export market for SA’s ostrich meat, is considering banning ostrich exports as the agriculture department continues to falter on the monitoring of health standards.
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Heineken brewery will create 225 jobs for Gauteng — MEC
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Gauteng Finance MEC Paul Mashatile says the R3bn Heineken plant and depot which is being constructed in Sedibeng, southeast of Johannesburg, will be a catalyst for economic growth as it would inject about R7bn into the provincial economy.
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Inbev deal creates world's biggest brewer
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Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev is to swallow US rival Anheuser-Busch in a $52 billion (R396 billion) takeover to create the world's biggest brewer, the companies said Monday.
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Maq gives Unilever a run for its money
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Cape Town - Bliss Chemicals, the owner of the Maq washing powder brand, had increased its market share by volume from zero to 24 percent in less than five years, ending multinational Unilever's dominance of the category, it said last week.
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Illovo to boost output
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Outputs for Illovo Sugar, Africa's biggest sugar producer, are expected to increase 10 percent to 2 million tons in the year ending next March.
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How big a footprint is in a glass of Backsberg wine?
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If the agricultural sector is more advanced than many other local sectors in working towards carbon neutral status, it is thanks to overseas retailers, which insist increasingly on measuring the carbon footprints of the goods on their shelves.
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Buying down delivers for Shoprite
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Shoprite Holdings' annual sales rose 22.3 percent to R47.7 billion as the supermarket group benefited from buying down in the tough consumer market, according to an analyst.
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Glass industry acts to keep bottle banks going
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THE glass industry will step into the breach created when New Reclamation Group subsidiary Enviroglass stopped collecting glass for recycling in order to focus on its core business — recycling of scrap metal.
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SABMiller completes deal for rights for Grolsch
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Global brewing giant SABMiller said on Tuesday that it has concluded an agreement with Anheuser-Busch to transfer the United States importation rights for the Grolsch brand to its US joint venture, MillerCoors.
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Karoo to spawn fish farms
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Cape Town - An Eastern Cape company is planning to farm fish in the middle of South Africa's hot and arid Great Karoo.
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Climate change is likely to singe SA's maize crop
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Climate change could cut South Africa's maize crop by 20 percent within 15 to 20 years as the west of the country dries out while the east is afflicted with increasingly severe storms, according to environmental affairs and tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
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Poultry firms to face tribunal
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Johannesburg - The Competition Commission has referred the findings of its investigations into complaints of anti- competitive conduct by Astral Operations Limited and Elite Breeding Firms, which operate in the poultry market, to the Competition Tribunal.
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Astral Foods spreads its wings
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Johannesburg - Astral Foods Limited announced on Wednesday the acquisition of a 50% interest in East Balt South Africa for an undisclosed amount, effective July 1, 2008.
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Fast food goes upmarket
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FAMOUS Brands, home to fast food outlets such as Wimpy, Steers, Debonairs Pizza, FishAways, House of Coffees and Brazilian Café, has added an upmarket label to its portfolio with the purchase of a majority stake in café group tashas.
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InBev still sweet on Anheuser
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Brewer InBev says it will keep chasing a takeover of US rival Anheuser-Busch despite a formal rebuff last week.Anheuser-Busch's board rejected the $46 billion (R362 billion) unsolicited bid as "financially inadequate."
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Power cuts zap Country Foods' profit
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Country Foods' first-half profit fell 96 percent to R219 000 due to a late crop and power cuts, the company said yesterday.Wild mushrooms such as the porcini and chanterelle varieties could not be cultivated, making yields unpredictable. The mushrooms are harvested from exotic pine plantations.
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SA to gain from biosafety initiative
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The agriculture department was close to finalising its link to an international “b iosafety c learing house” website, an initiative that would help the public get better information about genetically modified crops, its Biosafety director, Chantal Arendse, said last week.
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Maize farmers expect profit bonanza
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Johannesburg - The respite from high food and other agricultural prices, reported last week, is likely to prove brief, as grain prices surge on international markets.
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Third World adds froth to SABMiller
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Cape Town - SABMiller had benefited from its bias towards developing markets, where it had well-established positions, the group chairman, Meyer Kahn, said on Friday. But he noted that the key question was how the developing world would survive the slowdown in the global economy.
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Shoe sales at AVI tough as takkies
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AVI had "resolved" to sell its struggling Argentinean fishing business, the food and fashion company said yesterday.Its strongest revenue growth came from apparel, including Spitz, after opening new stores.
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SABMiller silent on Modelo
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SABMILLER would not say yesterday if it was in talks to buy Modelo, after speculation that the world’s biggest brewer would acquire the Mexican beer company.
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Wine trust's glass looks empty
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Cape Town - The future of the SA Wine Industry Trust (Sawit) appears to be in the balance as the organisation nears the end of the contractual period in which KWV is required to channel funds in its direction to promote empowerment in the industry.
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Dairy groups to be prosecuted
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Johannesburg - The Competition Tribunal on Monday dismissed Clover Industries' and Ladismith Cheese's attempt to withdraw the Competition Commission's milk price-fixing complaint referral, paving the way for the prosecution of them and six other dairy companies.
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Astrapak's savings drive begins with office move
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Astrapak, the packaging firm struggling to make money, has started a cost-cutting exercise as part of the changes introduced by Marco Baglione, the new chief executive.Baglione started by moving the head office operations from rented premises in Sandton to a company-owned property in Denver, Johannesburg.
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Pioneer aims to reduce shelf prices
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SA’s third-largest food producer, Pioneer Foods, said yesterday it would be doing what it could to ease the burden of rising food prices as commodity costs increased.
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Pioneer aims to reduce shelf prices
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SA’s third-largest food producer, Pioneer Foods, said yesterday it would be doing what it could to ease the burden of rising food prices as commodity costs increased.
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Emerging markets sweeten Nestle
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Nestle, the world’s largest food company, had maintained the pace of growth in emerging markets in recent months, CEO Paul Bulcke said yesterday.
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SABMiller keeps busy
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This week saw SABMiller solidify its presence in Russia after agreeing to aquire Russian brewer LLC Vladpivo. On the local front, SAB confirmed that would bring Dutch beer Grolsch Premium Lager into South Africa this month. SAB purchased Royal Grolsch four months ago and Vladpivo will become SABMiller's third production facility in Russia.
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SABM faces stiff competition
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Brussels - The global beer industry has a growing thirst for mergers as brewers struggle to cope with falling consumption in traditional big markets and soaring prices of raw materials.
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Growth is on the horizon in Country Foods deal
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Cape Town - Country Foods expected its acquisition of ethnic food supplier The Mediterranean to deliver both cost savings and margin expansion opportunities, the wild mushroom exporter said on Friday.
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Nestlé capital investment in SA tops R1bn
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NESTLÉ, one of the biggest food groups in the world, had invested more than R1bn in SA in the past three years, and would continue investing in the country and the African continent, says CEO Paul Bulcke.
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Input costs, processors 'will crimp' milk supply
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South Africa will experience an annual 60 million litre milk deficit in the near future, according to Etienne Terre'Blanche, the managing director of the Milk Producers' Organisation of SA. This milk deficit would occur if the big milk firms continued to insist on paying milk producers less, he said on Friday.
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Biofuel plan 'will be African success'
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Tongaat Hulett might build an ethanol plant in Mozambique within two to three years, the company said yesterday.The company is currently expanding sugar production in the country.
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Nestle's professional relaunch
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On Tuesday, 3 June 2008, Nestlé Food Services hosted its public relaunch to Nestlé Professional. According to Barend Minnaar, the brand's South African country business manager, Nestlé World Wide identified the ‘Out Of Home Industry' as one of the four growth pillars of its international business last year and has been preparing for the changeover ever since.
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Red-meat body cries foul over VAT cuts
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PRODUCERS of red meat have denounced Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana’s proposal to scrap value added tax (VAT) on poultry meat products as anticompetitive, saying it could lead to the demise of the red meat industry in SA.
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Dismiss case, demands Clover
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Johannesburg - Clover is insisting that the Competition Tribunal drops an anti-competition case against a number of major milk groups on a technicality.
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Tiger branded 'habitual criminal'
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Johannesburg - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) criticised food group Tiger Brands at a Competition Tribunal hearing on Friday, claiming the company was a "habitual criminal".
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SABMiller leaps on news of InBev bid
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An InBev purchase of US brewer Anheuser-Busch may trigger more mergers among beer producers seeking to match the combined company’s ability to boost earnings through wider distribution.
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All Joy not sweet on Eastern's offer
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Food group All Joy says it has rejected a takeover offer from Eastern Trading, which had offered to acquire the All Joy business as a going concern for just under R13.8 million.
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Cashing in at the cashiers
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Nature Valley granola bars says it enjoyed a significant sales boost after communicating with consumers via tillpoint advertising.
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'Red meat could disappear'
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Johannesburg - The red meat industry on Wednesday expressed concern regarding the proposed zero-rating of value added tax (VAT) on chicken.
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Coke's toasty new caffeine fix
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Coca-Cola South Africa launched its latest premium bean-to-cup coffee, Chaywa, in Johannesburg on Friday, 23 May 2008. The move makes SA the third market to offer the product, which has, to date, only been available in Canada and Norway.
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All Joy rejects takeover offer
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Johannesburg - Food group All Joy (ALJ) said on Tuesday it had rejected a takeover offer from Eastern Trading, which had offered to acquire the All Joy business as a going concern for just under R13.8m.
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Pioneer: No plan for bread fine
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Johannesburg - Food and beverages producer Pioneer Foods has made no provision for any potential fine it may get from competition authorities for its alleged role in the bread price-fixing scandal.
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PIONEER FOOD GROUP LIMITED
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André Hanekom, Pioneer Foods’ Managing Director commented: “As expected our margin and cash flow has been impacted by very high input costs. We expect these pressures to continue in the second half of the financial year."
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SABMiller, InBev to lead beer mergers
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Johannesburg - SABMiller is one of just two brewing companies likely to take advantage of the looming consolidation in the European beer industry, a research report by ratings agency Fitch shows.
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Sales of basic food prop up Tiger
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Sales of basic groceries, such as canned foods and sandwich spreads, outperformed the market in the downturn, but growth in discretionary foods, such as sweets, slowed "dramatically", Tiger Brands said last week.
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Rainbow sees silver lining in poultry sector
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Cape Town - Rainbow Chicken bucked the trend of falling profits in the poultry sector and managed to squeeze out a 13.6 percent rise in annual profit but it warned yesterday that earnings would likely fall in financial 2009.
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Shareholders to pay again for ‘errors’ at Tiger
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SHAREHOLDERS of SA’s largest food and beverage group, Tiger Brands, will again be penalised for its misdemeanours — to the tune of nearly 34c per share in first-half profit — after subsidiary Adcock Ingram Critical Care admitted to bid rigging, for which it has agreed to pay a R53,5m fine.
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Local agriculture feels strain of demand
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South Africa's agricultural sector is buckling under the strain of balancing domestic supply and demand for food crops, according to a Standard Bank agricultural overview.
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General Mills South Africa Receives Halaal Certification
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General Mills, the world’s sixth-largest food company, is pleased to announce that three of its major retail brands in South Africa – Pillsbury, Häagen-Dazs, and Nature Valley Granola Bars - are Halaal certified. The certification and monitoring process is overseen by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) Halaal Trust of South Africa.
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Good rice harvest won't temper prices
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Rice production in Asia, Africa and Latin America is forecast to reach a new record level in 2008, but world rice prices could remain high in the short term, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Monday.
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Pressure will help Afgri fatten flock
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Financial pressure in the chicken sector would create opportunities for Afgri to acquire medium-sized chicken rivals, the company said yesterday. It is scaling back expansion plans at its poultry unit.
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Tiger still to list Adcock
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FAST-moving consumer goods group Tiger Brands is set to continue with plans to unbundle Adcock Ingram, despite a business unit admitting its role in a bid-fixing cartel and agreeing to pay a R53,5m fine.
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Everything just keeps growing right for Afgri
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INTUITIVELY, you know agricultural services group Afgri should be doing well: India, China and their cattle are chomping their way through the world’s grain supplies and Afgri is in the grain storage and handling business. You can’t go wrong with that, or can you?
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Tiger Brands aims for good corporate citizenship
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Tiger Brands is starting a company-wide review to ensure there is no more anti-competitive behaviour after cartels in the health care and bread and milling sectors were recently exposed, chief executive officer Peter Matlare said on Friday.
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Streamlined Afgri beats drought
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Agricultural services group Afgri reported a 10.3 percent improvement in headline earnings per share, in spite of the drought in South Africa, the company said on Wednesday.
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SA Breweries to build on House of Hansa success
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SOUTH African Breweries , SA’s largest brewer, is seeking to springboard off its successful Hansa Marzen Gold launch by keeping an eye out for other brews that can be added to the House of Hansa.
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Milk, poultry and pork price hikes on the menu
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Milk, poultry and pork prices were set to follow the hikes in agriculture input costs, including maize, as producers of these products were not making any money, Absa board member Johan Willemse said yesterday.
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Capitalising on fruitful ventures
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Capespan has grown from an exporter to a global trade facilitator.CAPE-based fresh fruit exporter and distributor Capespan is hoping to get a bigger bite of the international fresh fruit market.
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After feast, the chickens come home
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Poultry producers have been caught overinvesting in the consumer boom, sending their share prices to year lows over the past two months, just months after they hit year highs in December.
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Grain prices good for speculators, not farmers
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Commodity-index funds control a record 4.5 billion bushels of maize, wheat and soya beans through Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) futures, equal to half the amount held in US silos on March 1.
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No grain export ban for SA farmers
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SA WOULD not join China in curbing grain exports to cap domestic prices, as the move may discourage farmers from boosting output, Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana said.
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Pioneer surges on JSE debut
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Pioneer Foods made a sparkling debut on the JSE on Tuesday, with shares opening at R32.75 - a premium to the rights offer price of R25 each.
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Illovo takes back mill after BEE deal fails
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Illovo Sugar had taken back ownership of the Umfolozi sugar mill, which it sold in 2005 to Umvoti Transport, after conditions for the transaction were not met, Africa's biggest sugar producer said yesterday.
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Govt helps producers to milk it
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Johannesburg - Government and the Milk Producers' Organisation (MPO) have increased co-operation to empower dairy farmers and deal with the rising demand of dairy products, MPO said on Wednesday.
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SABMiller keeps lager volumes growing
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SABMiller, the world's third-largest brewer, reported on Wednesday that lager volume rose 11 percent in the year ending March 31 and that revenue grew by 16 percent.
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Pioneer to list next week
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Johannesburg - Consumer foods maker Pioneer Foods goes public on April 22, listing on the JSE with 400m shares as part of its plans to raise capital, it said on Tuesday.
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Zimbabwe poll delay jolts Tongaat Hulett stock
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Johannesburg - Tongaat Hulett, which produces sugar in Zimbabwe and South Africa, had its biggest intraday fall in three months yesterday after further delays to the release of results from Zimbabwe's March 29 elections, but the shares recovered to post a small gain on the day.
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Capespan eyes fresh markets
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UNLISTED fresh fruit importer and distributor Capespan is looking to emerging markets for growth as demand for fruit in countries such as India and China picks up.
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All Joy looks to markets for R15m
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Cape Town - Tomato sauce maker All Joy Foods said yesterday it had resolved to raise R15 million through a rights offer, to raise much-needed working capital and repay debt.
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Pioneer to go ahead with listing
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Johannesburg - Consumer food brands maker Pioneer Foods has resolved to list on the JSE and raise capital through a rights offer to its existing shareholders, it said on Monday.
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Wheat mills busier this year
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Local food companies including Tiger Brands, Premier Foods and Pioneer Foods milled 21 percent more wheat in February than in the same month a year ago, National Chamber of Milling data showed yesterday.
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Sugar producer tariff protection to stay for now
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TARIFF protection for SA’s sugar producers against disruptively low world sugar prices would remain in place because the fundamental conditions underpinning the Sugar Act were unchanged, Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Rob Davies said yesterday.
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UCT Unilever Institute releases desk research tool
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Top South African marketers, academics and media fundis are set to share some of their combined expertise with other local marketers and business people following the release of the 2008 version of UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing’s popular marketing and business planning tool, Landscape.
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All Joy's woes continue
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Sauce maker All Joy's woes continued last week after it said it had gone back into the red.
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Nestle formula 'poses no risk'
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Johannesburg - Nestle on Thursday assured consumers that its Lactogen 1 formula was fully compliant with specifications and posed no health risk.
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SA wine put on toxins list
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London - A South African wine produced in Stellenbosch has been identified by a European organisation as one of 34 from across the world that contains dangerous toxins.
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Beer merger waits on US watchdog
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The proposed merger between the North American and South American operations of Coors and Miller, owned by SABMiller, is expected to be concluded on schedule in the second half of this calendar year.
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Tiger Brands' FD resigns
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Johannesburg - Noel Doyle, the chief financial officer and executive director of food group Tiger Brands (TBS), is to leave the company and resign as a director with effect from May 31, 2008.
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Sugarequip hits sweet spot
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Sugarequip, which supplies equipment to the cane sugar industry worldwide, has secured substantial orders to equip mills in South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia, boosting annual revenue by more than R26 million.
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Heineken picks SA brewery site
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London - Heineken, the world's fourth-largest brewer, has finalised the siting of its new South African brewery south of Johannesburg, which will create 225 jobs and take on dominant domestic brewer SABMiller.
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Grains, oil jack up food prices
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Food costs have surged in the past two years, mostly on the back of higher global grain prices. In 2005 the average annual growth in the consumer price index (CPI) for food in cities was just 2.2 percent, rising to 10.4 percent last year.
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KWV: A Spirited Performance
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Cape Town - Wine and brandy group KWV Limited showed an encouraging improvement in its core operations, reporting on Wednesday afternoon a 48% rise in operating profits to R38.5m for the half-year to end December 2007.
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Nielsen survey: What’s Hot Around the Global – Insights on Household Products 2007
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The survey focuses on categories that contain products used around the home to keep it clean and running smoothly. Examples include dish, laundry and hand detergents; brooms, brushes and mops; bleaches and disinfectants; batteries; and plastic and aluminum wraps and bags. The survey covered 61 markets across five regions around the world, accounting for more than 85% of the world’s GDP and over 70% of the world’s population.
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Joint venture aims to topple SABMiller
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Diageo, Heineken and Namibia Breweries had signed a joint venture to boost sales of their cider, beer and ready-to-drink brands in South Africa and challenge market leader SABMiller, Diageo said on Friday.
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Poultry falls on high feed costs
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Poultry producers, said to be in an industry with long-term growth potential, stumbled on higher maize feed costs and some oversupply, Country Bird and Sovereign Foods have said.
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Every job at Unilever helps 22 people
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For every direct job at its South African business, another 22 workers depend on Unilever for at least some part of their livelihood, the multinational food and toiletry manufacturer has said.
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SAB’s new cooler eyes slice of growing market
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SA’S largest brewer, South African Breweries (SAB), aims to expand its share of the fast-growing alcoholic cooler market through the launch of its latest offering, Skelter’s Straight.
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Cooldrink shortage on the way
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Johannesburg - SABMiller confirmed on Thursday that it will be facing intermittent product shortages due to carbon dioxide supply problems.
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Wine makers want more back from excise and VAT earnings
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The government, which made about R3 billion a year in excise duties from the wine and spirits industry, should contribute substantially more to the industry so it could be more competitive and better promote the image of local wine, said Johan van Rooyen, the chief executive of the South African Wine Industry Council.
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SABMiller keen on Asian market
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SABMILLER, the world’s largest brewer by volume with a provisional 231,7-million hectolitres sold last year, is seeking more expansion opportunities in developing economies.
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Power, biofuels key to sugar sector growth
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Generating electricity and producing biofuels would make the sugar industry more sustainable, promote growth in the sector and create jobs, Tongaat Hulett's chief executive, Peter Staude, said yesterday.
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Fine makes Heineken profits go flat
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Heineken said on Wednesday full-year net profit fell 28 percent due to one-time charges, including a large fine from the European Union for leading a price-fixing cartel on the Dutch market.
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KWV harvests sweet earnings
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Wine and brandies producer and marketer KWV Investments (KWV) on Wednesday reported a 17.6 percent rise in headline earnings per share to 378.2 cents for the six months ended December 2007.
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Thousands of tons of US beef recalled in mad cow scare
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Westland- Hallmark Meat, a US meat packer whose products are sold in Africa and have been used in a national school lunch programme, recalled a US record amount of beef yesterday after the government declared the meat unfit for human consumption.
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Tiger Brands' steps to curb crisis gratify PIC
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Brian Molefe, the chief executive of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), said yesterday that he was encouraged by the actions that the Tiger Brands board had taken in response to the latest allegations of anti-competitive behaviour against one of the branded food group's wholly owned subsidiaries, Adcock Ingram.
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Remove tax on vegetable oil, urges processors' association
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Durban - Consumers would pay R5 less for five litres of Sunfoil oil if the government would remove the 10 percent import duty on vegetable oil that was introduced eight years ago, Razak Moosa, the chairman of the SA Oil Processors' Association (Saopa), said last week.
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Hardware suppliers feeling retail pinch
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The results of three building materials companies cement a trend of slowing growth on the retail side of the business even as sales to infrastructural projects remain buoyant.
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Distell earnings up 17,4%
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DISTELL today reported a 17,4% rise in diluted headline earnings per share to 271,6c for the six months ended December from 234,4c a year ago.
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SABMiller and Coca-Cola to establish new brewery in Australia
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SABMiller plc today announces that Pacific Beverages Pty Limited (Pacific Beverages), its Australian joint venture with Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA), will invest in the construction of a new brewery in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, some 100 kms from Sydney.
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Sweet forecast for Tongaat
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Agriprocessing and land management company Tongaat Hulett expected net profit for the year to December last year to come in at R3,457bn, up from 2006’s R723m, it said in a trading statement yesterday.
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New CEO for Tiger Brands
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Johannesburg - Consumer goods group Tiger Brands (TBS) has named Peter Matlare as Chief Executive Officer following the early retirement of Nick Dennis. Matlare's appointment is effective from 1 April 2008.
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Label makeover for 'health' snacks
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Manufacturers of health and breakfast bars, which pride themselves on making snacks which are suitable for a healthy diet, may soon have to overhaul their marketing campaigns.
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State will get cream from fixed milk price
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Consumers are unlikely to be the direct beneficiaries of the competition trial into the milk price-fixing scam. The competition trial into the milk price-fixing scam could net the government as much as R1-billion in administrative penalties.
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All Gold and Spar unite with consumers against hunger
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Consumer support for the 2007 All Gold / SPAR Unite Against Hunger campaign raised over R1, 4 million. The proceeds were distributed between five charities dedicated to alleviating hunger and poverty, especially amongst children, in South Africa.
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Staple foods on competition body’s menu
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THE Competition Commission is cracking down on companies that fix the prices of staple foods, with two more bakers due to be prosecuted and several milk producers set to appear before the Competition Tribunal shortly.
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Price-fixing scandal hits Duens, Sasko
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Pioneer Foods, which owns Sasko and Duens bakeries, faces a fine of nearly R1,2-billion for allegedly colluding with rival bakeries to fix the price of bread.
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