Quick fix? Not for Astrapak

Astrapak optimists are betting heavily on the new chief executive Robin Moore's ability to restore the troubled packaging firm to health. Reflecting this confidence, Astrapak is trading on a 75,5 price:earnings ratio despite a 61% fall in headline earnings per share for the year to February and a 90% fall in earnings over the past three years. 17 May 2013 11:16

Broiler producers roasted by low margins

[Edward West] Sovereign Food Investments‚ which has operations in the struggling broiler industry‚ lifted headline earnings 10% to 74.5c per share for the year to February due to a more profitable product mix‚ good agricultural and production numbers and a focus on cost controls. 17 May 2013 08:58

Hard roads for Cargo Carriers

[Edward West] Cargo Carriers (CRG) raised its dividend 76.5% for the year to February after its logistics and transport related operations performed well in an operating environment of low economic growth and industrial relations interruptions. 16 May 2013 08:07

Bumper wine industry crop expected

The 2013 harvest season exceeded the expectations of the South African wine industry and this will be the biggest wine grape crop ever produced, although it had a late and slow start. 16 May 2013 11:52

Africa must reduce infrastructure delays

[Linda Ensor] The classic public-private partnerships both in SA and Africa are plagued by delays‚ with the projects sometimes taking seven years to get going‚ Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on last week at a media conference on accelerating infrastructure investment in Africa‚ at the World Economic Forum on Africa. 13 May 2013 13:40

Motlanthe calls for calm from farm workers

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has called for co-operation between farmers and farm workers, the SABC news reported on Saturday (11 May). 13 May 2013 12:35

Public hearings on agri produce bill kick off

The public hearings on the Agricultural Produce Marketing Agencies Bill started on Monday, 13 May 2013, in Irene, outside Pretoria. 13 May 2013 10:53

Joburg prioritises food resilience, agri development

PRETORIA: The City of Johannesburg has made food resilience and agricultural development a priority to ensure that no one goes hungry, said Executive Mayor Parks Tau. 13 May 2013 10:56

Dutoit Group Fruit competition to motivate workforce

During the last week of April the Dutoit Group held a picking competition between the winning picking teams for each of its six estates, situated in the Koue Bokkeveld, Ceres, Western Cape.This is the first time this competition has been held and it was hosted at Lindeshof Estate. 13 May 2013 09:57

VinPro and Wine Cellars SA to merge

Two South African wine producer organisations, VinPro and Wine Cellars South Africa (WCSA), are set to merge, in an attempt to bring synergy and effective service delivery to wine producers and cellars, and to augment this sector's bargaining power and influence. 10 May 2013 09:32

Fawu threatens new Western Cape strike

[Paul Vecchiatto] The Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) has threatened to resume agricultural strikes in the Western Cape and accuses farmers of using labour brokers to find temporary workers to replace its permanently employed members. 8 May 2013 10:54

100,000 people lost their jobs this year

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released by Statistics SA (Stats SA) on Monday (6 May) showed that 100,000 people lost their jobs in the first quarter of this year. The number of unemployed people now stands at 4.6m, equivalent to 25.2% of the working population. 7 May 2013 10:13

Unilever aims to reduce imports of sunflower oil

Unilever is celebrating the success of a partnership blossoming in the sunflower fields in Limpopo to ensure sustainable sourcing of sunflower oil for its products. Through the sunflower farming partnership, Unilever has successfully developed higher yielding hybrid seeds and it is now possible for the oils to be traced right back to the individual farms where the seeds were grown. 6 May 2013 10:27

Tongaat Hulett, Ingonyama Trust Board sign agreement

Tongaat Hulett and the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) have formalised a framework for joint co-operation and collaboration in raising the economic and social well-being of rural people on ITB land in KwaZulu-Natal. 6 May 2013 10:36

Davies approves wheat reference price rise

[Amanda Visser] Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has approved the recommended increase of the domestic reference price of wheat as part of the long-term protective regime and price support mechanism introduced by the government in 1999. 6 May 2013 10:53