Poultry firms to face tribunal

Astral Operations Limited, based in Cape Town, controls companies involved in the breeding of chickens, namely Ross Poultry, National Chicks, and Meadow Feeds. Elite Breeding Farms is a joint venture firm, based in KwaZulu-Natal, conducting its business as a partnership between Astral and Country Bird (now listed on the JSE as Country Bird Holdings).

Astral controls Elite it owns 82% - and Country Bird is one of the complainants in this matter. The joint venture is involved in the supply of parent breeding stock to the joint venture partners, i.e. Astral and Country Bird.

The Commission found that Astral and Elite have contravened the Competition Act and has asked the Tribunal to levy an administrative penalty of 10% of both the companies' annual South African turnover as well as their exports from South Africa for the 2006/7 financial year.

"The Commission viewed this complaint seriously in light of our other investigations into staple food such as milk and bread," commented Thulani Kunene, head of Enforcements and Exemptions at the Commission.

- I-Net Bridge