The Western Cape government has had the impression, following its engagement with Premier Foods on Tuesday 18 August, that the company had already made up its mind to shut its processing plant in Tulbagh down.
This according to Goodwell Dingaan of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
He and other department representatives briefed the Standing Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Tourism on Tuesday (25 August), about the status of their engagements with Premier Foods regarding the proposed closure.
The plant has 250 permanent staff members and between 2 000 and 3 000 seasonal workers.
Dingaan said at the meeting with Premier Foods the department requested it consider options such as bringing investors on board or sell the company completely.
He said company representatives told the department it had approached Langeberg Foods and offered its facility, which was rejected.
According to Dingaan the department also engaged with Langeberg Foods to find a possible solution for Premier Foods.
He said it had told the department that it was also facing a big challenge after recently acquiring Langeberg and Ashton Foods, a division of Tiger Brands. Langeberg indicated it was still trying to recover, Dingaan said, and that it was going to be difficult to absorb the produce of farmers or take over some of Premier Foods’ operations.
According to Dingaan farmers who supply Premier Foods with produce had told his department that after engaging with Premier Foods there was still nothing on the table.
“It looks as if the company is not going to provide any assistance whatsoever if the facility closes down. That is a serious concern as well.”
The committee heard that the farmers had formed a task team owing to their concern about their contractual agreements with Premier Foods.
He told the committee the department had also engaged with the departments of Labour and Trade, Industry and Competition.
Dingaan said the Department of Labour had told his department that at this stage it could not get involved because the Section 189 process, joint consensus-seeking consultation before making dismissals, had already been invoked. The Department of Labour will have to wait until the process is complete, he said.
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“We have visited various options, for example looking at potential investors or selling the place completely, and at this stage it seems Premier Foods is not considering any options.”
According to Dingaan his department wanted to know from Premier Foods if it was willing to keep its doors open until the end of the next season, to which it responded that doing so would carry a loss.
Ilse van Schalkwyk, also from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, pointed out that Premier Foods is the largest employer in Tulbagh.
“Farmers have invested heavily in terms of a different orchard with regard to specific commodities that are actually grown for canning.
“If they cannot produce for a canning facility what else can they do with the fruit at such a short notice, after they have signed a two-year agreement with Premier Foods.”
Premier Foods did not attend the briefing.
