Sales of Fairtrade products in South Africa increased fourfold in 2011, reaching R73.2m from the R18.4m achieved in 2010.

The Competition Commission has fined the Oceana Group R35.7m - 5% of its turnover derived from its pilchard, anchovy and red eye operations in SA in 2010 - for entering  into agreements with Pioneer Fishing, Premier Fishing and Saldanha Bay Canning in the processing and canning of fish, and sharing information that gave rise to indirect fixing of the price of canned fish sold to consumers.

In his presentation at the recent South African Society of Dairy Technology’s 2012 Symposium in Umhlanga, Johan De Smidt, MD of Nampak Liquid Cartons and Elopak, explained how extended shelf life milk created a new category in SA’s fresh segment in 2005, as well as the total systems approach that is required along the product value chain to preserve product shelf life.

Maretha Vermaak from the Consumer Education Program of SA says that milk represents a unique source of nutrients and bioactive components that act in synergy as well as independently.

Nestlé’s partnership with the Agency for Agricultural Development and the Regional Office of Agriculture seeks to increase the company’s own milk collection in the Doukkala-Abda region by 10% by 2014.