Farmer’s Weekly – 30 August 2019

Weekly neWsWrap

14 farmer’sweekly 30 August 2019

Theobjectiveofa newprimary

co-operativerecentlyestablished

inBloemfonteinis tounlock

opportunitiesformembers,bring

farmersandconsumerscloser

together,andaddresspoverty.

Oneofthefoundingmembersof

theLivestockOwners’Agricultural

PrimaryCo-operative,DrJaco

deVilliers, said the new co-op had

been established according to the

regulations of the Co-operatives

Act of 2005. The Act allowed

for agricultural, housing,

worker, social and consumer

co-operatives, among others.

De Villiers said it also catered

for ‘multi-level’ co-operatives,

namely primary, secondary

and tertiary co-operatives.

“Ourpointofdepartureinagriculture

is that a primary co-operative would

serve at the primary production level,

with a secondary co-op then established

with the purpose of processing or

adding value along the value chain.”

The seven founding members of

the newly launched co-operative,

which would trade under the name

Livestock Owners Co-op, were

based countrywide, he said.

De Villiers said the co-op was

intended to create prosperity for

members, as well as improve the

relationship with consumers. He said

he also believed it could be a means of

empowering workers and addressing

poverty in rural areas. This was

supported by the preamble to the Act,

which stated that it recognised that

a “viable, autonomous, self-reliant

and self-sustaining co-operative

movement can play a major role in

the economic and social development

of [South Africa], in particular by

creating employment, generating

income, facilitating broad-based

black economic empowerment,

and eradicating poverty”.

De Villiers said the true power

of the co-operative would lie in the

“collective” powers it could unlock.

He was also involved in the

establishment of another primary

co-op for the grain sector, and said

a pilot board had been appointed

during a recent meeting in Heilbron.

Seventeen founding members had

attended, and were now finalising

the constitution. – Sabrina Dean

Farming Co-operatives

First in a series of multilevel co-ops launched

Accordingtoa statementby
theCompetitionTribunalof
SouthAfrica,theconditions
attachedtoitsrecentapproval
ofa mergerbetweenlocal
ostrichproductscompanies
KleinKarooInternational(KKI)
andMosstrichwereprimarily
intendedtokeepostrich
productsreadilyavailableto
consumersatcompetitiveprices.
TheCompetitionCommission
previouslyprohibitedthe
proposedmergeronthe
groundsthatit wouldreduce
competitionintheostrich
productsindustry,andtherefore
prejudiceconsumers.
KKIandMosstrich,which
exportedmostoftheirproducts,
approachedthetribunalto
challengethecommission’s
decision.Thetwocompanies
arguedthatthemergerwas
necessarytohelpstabilisethe
ostrichindustry,whichhadbeen
indeclineinrecentyearsdue
tothenegativefinancialimpact
ofavianinfluenzaonostrich
exports,amongotherfactors.

KKI’sactingmanagingdirector,

JohanSchoeman,andMosstrich’s

managingdirector,Francois

deWet,previouslytoldFarmer’s

Weeklythatwhereasmore

than 300000 ostricheswere

slaughteredandprocessed

inSouthAfricabetween

July 2000 andJune2001,this

figurehaddroppedto 123000

duringthecorresponding

periodin2018/2019.

A statementbythetribunalsaid

thatit hadapprovedthemerger

ofKKIandMosstrichsubject

toa numberofconditions,and

tribunalofficialswouldmonitor

themergedentity,CapeKaroo

International(CKI),toensurethat

theseconditionswerefulfilled.

TheyincludedthatCKI:

• Offeratleast40%ofits
  slaughter-lineostrichfeathers
  ontendertootherlocalbuyers
  ineachfinancialyear,and
  thatthirdpartiesusingCKI’s
  slaughteringfacilitiesbeallowed
  toretaintheirostriches’feathers;


• Makea certainpercentage
  ofostrichsteaksandfillets,

Business

‘New company will make ostrich products readily accessible’

as well as ostrich trimmings,

available for sale in South

Africa in each financial year;

• Offer access to its abattoirs
  and tanneries to any industry
  third party on terms that
  are fair, reasonable and non-
  discriminatory in respect of
  pricing, quality and timeliness;


• Not adjust the annual
  inflationary increase of its
  tanning and slaughtering fees
  beyond the tanneries’ and
  abattoirs’ cost inflation, and that
  this cost inflation be subjected
  to expert determination; and


• Not retrench any employees
  as a result of the merger for a
  period of three years from the
  date the merger is implemented.
  De Wet said the merger would
  be implemented in the last
  quarter of 2019. “We regard [the
  merger] conditions as fair, [and]
  we’re excited about the new
  challenge and [have] the full
  commitment of the personnel
  of both KKI and Mosstrich, as
  well as our ostrich producers,”
  he said. – Lloyd Phillips