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FBR March 2016

www.fbreporter.com FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | MARCH 2016 | 11 THOUGHT FOR FOOD knocks. Can you give us a quick update? The Massingir project, which is a proposed greenfields project, was impaired at the end of June 2015 because we hadn’t satisfactorily concluded the funding model by the deadline we had set for ourselves. We are still working on it and will go to the market with a project update in our interim results. What’s the most important thing government could do to improve the economic outlook for the country? Provision of services is our biggest priority, because without them business and civil society can’t function properly. Beyond basic infrastructure, the challenge is to stimulate growth and give the country a competitive advantage that will attract investment. That brings with it the need for safety, modern economic practices, ease of physical movement in and out of the country, and a generally welcoming environment to visitors. Prickly question for a company that is a major sugar producer: There’s a growing global campaign to reduce added/hidden sugars in processed foods. Given the shocking health profile of South Africa (diabetes, obesity etc) for which sugar is increasingly being blamed, does RCL FOODS plan to reduce added sugar in its own products? It’s widely accepted that the Western diet generally has too much sugar, along with too much fat, salt and too many artificial additives. The solution to health issues lies ultimately with the consumer, who needs to be educated to make healthy choices and eat various food types in healthy moderation. I think that demonising sugar is slightly unfair, given the controversy surrounding so many other ingredients. As a Group we try to create as much authentic food as possible, and we give consumers the power to choose through clear labelling. Natural sugar remains a significant source of energy for many of our people, particularly in lower income groups. We’re obviously conscious of trends and are constantly reviewing our product portfolio, but it isn’t our place (or our wish) to parent our consumers. The modern lifestyle means that we should all be more aware of what we consume, and in what proportions. If I look at the numbers of the last few years, RCL FOODS, has not been the most exciting business (in fact you’ve had some pretty disappointing results, though 2015 was a slight improvement). Your peers (eg Tiger, Pioneer) have been performing better in terms of sales growth. Your comments? It’s actually been a very exciting few years! In less than 5 years we’ve transformed ourselves from a chicken business to one of biggest food businesses in SA, with over 20 000 people and a diversified portfolio of brands across a variety of categories. So we’re very excited about the future, even though the process of becoming one company has impacted to an extent on our results. Macro influences in chicken and sugar have also posed challenges which some of our major competitors are less exposed to. Apart from those areas, we have performed well and believe the benefits of our restructuring will show in our results going forward. x businesses in SA, with over 20000

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