Food industry makes urgent call for protection

• Farmers, retailers urge government to provide security for transportation, production of food

Farmers, retailers and food producers have warned of a humanitarian disaster if the government fails to provide security for the transportation and production of food.

Many food producers and transporters have been forced to close shop after looters damaged manufacturing plants and shut down the N3 highway between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

At the same time, retailer Shoprite, that owns the Checkers and USave brands, is asking consumers not to panic buy, saying the supply chain was working and most stores were being restocked.

But bread supply in Kwa Zulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng has dried up as the province’s manufacturers remain closed.

Pioneer Foods, which makes Sasko bread, has shut down its Shakaskraal bakery in Durban that makes thousands of loaves of bread an hour, group communications manager Debbie Sharwood confirmed. Its flour mill was ransacked on Tuesday.

The country’s largest food producer, Tiger Brands, has been unable to manufacture Albany bread in KwaZulu-Natal this week and faced damage to production sites in KwaZuluNatal, where it packages Tastic Rice and other food products.

It reports an estimated R150m in stock loss to date.

The Consumer Goods Council of SA that represents 9,000 members in the retail value chain, including Pick n Pay and Spar, warned of a humanitarian disaster unless security was provided for delivery vehicles, trucks and staff at retail stores and food producers’ manufacturing plants and malls.

It said there was widespread destruction of food and other manufacturing facilities, supermarkets and grocery stores as well as distribution infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng and security for staff and factories and trucks was an “absolute priority”.

SA is a net importer of wheat, so disruptions at the Durban port and the inability to transport stock will affect food producers’ ability to access raw materials to make bread and flour .

The Consumer Goods Council of SA said its members were doing everything they could to rebuild and serve customers and meet “the emerging humanitarian needs”. But it called on the government to open the N3 and suspend road tolls so that goods could move freely between Durban and Johannesburg.

Some retailers and food producers have been reluctant to comment on the situation as there is concern that if consumers start panic buying it could further put pressure on the supply chain.

The KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union said the situation was dire because farmers could not access feed for their livestock or packaging for raw materials and eggs.

CEO Sandy La Marque said: “The looming food crisis is only going to get worse; not only have most shops been destroyed in smaller towns around KwaZulu-Natal, but now farmers are unable to keep up production to supply the country with the volumes consumed daily.”

“The knock-on effect of the looting and rioting is threatening to derail the highly sensitive production and agricultural value chain,” La Marque said.

“Feedstock for livestock, chickens, pigs and other animals is being depleted on farms, milk producers are dumping their milk, and egg, fruit and vegetable producers are unable to get their produce to the end users.”

Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly said transporters needed to be protected and the N3 route and other volatile areas secured with checkpoints before truckers resumed working.

As recovery efforts gathered pace on Thursday, domestic low-cost carrier FlySafair committed to sending essential supplies to KwaZulu-Natal and increasing flights departing the province for other hubs.

“Demand for air travel overall is still deeply depressed, but there is clearly a need for additional capacity for both cargo and passenger seats into and out of KwaZulu-Natal this week,” said Kirby Gordon, chief marketing officer at FlySafair.

“We have some limited capacity in the belly of the aircraft to carry cargo into the province. We are assisting various other charitable groups in moving required goods and services, including essential things like food, medical provisions and yeast to secure bread supplies.”

Gordon said there is demand for seats for people looking to leave the area, particularly to head to the Western Cape.

In the Western Cape, malls and other business premises remained on edge amid fears that violence and looting could spread to the province.

But on Thursday the province’s premier, Alan Winde, said the situation was calm across the Western Cape and there had not been looting.