KENYA – United Green Group, a UK firm, has signed a Ksh 31 billion (US$235.9m) co-investment deal with Kisumu County Government to kick-start a flagship agricultural FinTech program for rural communities within the Nyanza region. The five-year project is expected to spur high productivity in climate-smart farming and help the government set up Agro-industrial facilities, creating new markets for farmers in the Lake Victoria Basin region for over five years. Besides transforming the agricultural sector, the project is projected to create at least 5,000 direct jobs and incorporate 20,000 rural ..read more

SOUTH AFRICA – Premier Foods, one of the leading consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) businesses that offer a diverse array of products across Southern Africa, has listed its Premier shares in the ‘45102020 -Food Products’ sector of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) under the abbreviated name “Premier” and share code “PMR.” As the first company to list on the JSE this year, Premier establishes its leadership and innovator position as a South African food and consumer packaged goods business. Premier has begun trading with 128.9 million shares issued. Brait PLC (“Brait”), the ultimate controlli ..read more

DENMARK – Northern Europe is now home to two brand new state-of-the-art flavour innovation labs thanks to investments by IFF, a global leader in solutions for food and drinks, health, biosciences, and scent. The new sweet and culinary flavour production labs are part of IFF’s  312,150-square-foot facility in Brabrand, Denmark, which has been operational since 1964. The expanded facility will enable local and regional manufacturers to work in close partnership with a new team of flavorists who will introduce the latest modulation technologies and develop solutions for the beverage, baker ..read more

EUROPE – Danish Crown acquires 14,000 square meters of structures and about 120,000 square meters in Vejen on April 1. This comes after reports that Skare filed for bankruptcy in February, affecting 300 people at their Vejen and Rhus locations. After an unannounced inspection of the Vejen processing facility in December, whereby the authenticity of its meat was scrutinized, this occurred. The vast majority of the structures at the site in Vejen, southern Denmark, were constructed for food production. In an “unexpected opportunity,” Danish Crown has purchased the facility to allow it to incre ..read more

TUNISIA – Authorities in Tunisia have given the green light for the importation of fishmeal and fishery products from Russia in an effort to boost local availability of fish. The  imports will be coordinated by Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) recently obtained veterinary certificates for the export of fishery products and fishmeal. Tunisia has one of the highest levels of fish consumption per capita in Africa with 12 kg/year making it an attractive destination for foreign suppliers. According to data compiled on the Trademap plat ..read more

UK – Tims Dairy, a popular brand of Greek-style yogurt, has expanded its UK dairy factory to increase production capacity by over 60%. Tims Dairy a family yoghurt producer, was founded by Timotheou’s father and uncle in 1949 in London and currently employs 80 people. Timotheou and his three brothers, the family’s second generation, are the current managers of the company. Speaking at the IFE trade event in London on 20th March, the second-generation family member Bides Timotheou stated that they are running trials in the processing plant. “It’s a matter of getting everything up and running n ..read more

UK – Tims Dairy, a popular brand of Greek-style yogurt, has expanded its UK dairy factory to increase production capacity by over 60%. Tims Dairy a family yoghurt producer, was founded by Timotheou’s father and uncle in 1949 in London and currently employs 80 people. Timotheou and his three brothers, the family’s second generation, are the current managers of the company. Speaking at the IFE trade event in London on 20th March, the second-generation family member Bides Timotheou stated that they are running trials in the processing plant. “It’s a matter of getting everything up and running n ..read more

USA – Tabassum Zalotrawala has been appointed as  Senior vice president and the Chief development officer of fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s USA effective April 24. Her appointment comes barely a week after her resignation as chief development officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill, one of McDonald’s competitor in US that specializes in bowls, tacos and Mission burritos. Zalotrawala will be reporting to McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger and will be tasked with spearheading McDonald’s growth strategy monikered “Accelerating the Arches” which was introduced in 2020. The strategy has ..read more

IVORY COAST – Two Swiss chocolate manufacturers, Barry Callebaut, and Nestlé have signed a long-term agroforestry project agreement in Ivory Coast, which will immensely benefit cocoa producers and intensify the agroforestry approach happening in Ghana and Ivory Coast. The long-term agreement partnership will roll out 11,500 ha of agroforestry, including payments for ecosystem services (PES) to more than 6,000 farmers in the Ivory Coast. As the chocolate businesses noted, PES means that farmers get paid yearly for the survival of the planted trees as a reward for carbon removal. Next to the ad ..read more

SOUTH AFRICA – The South African Department of Trade and Industry and Competition has formally launched its investigation into conditions all along the fresh produce supply chain in the country, looking for any indications of uncompetitive behavior or price fixing. The Competition Commission said that the Fresh Produce Market Inquiry (FPMI) will consider if adverse effects are present in the fresh produce value chain arising from any feature or combination of features that impede, restrict, or distort competition. A study published by the commission in 2021 found worrying trends around the co ..read more