Related Articles
Top Stories
May 27 2012 11:21
There's a price war raging between South Africa's cellphone networks after Cell C lowered the rates of its prepaid calls by more than 34%.
May 28 2012 07:53
The City of Cape Town has spent R175m running the Myciti bus service since the Soccer World Cup compared to an income of R35m, a report says.
May 27 2012 13:09
The oversupply of golf estates has claimed another victim.
Johannesburg -
"As a developing country, South Africa cannot accept further job
losses and should follow the lead of many other similar countries
to ensure that exports are not strangled by an overvalued
currency," SA Fruit and Vegetable Canners Association chairperson Rudi
Richards said in a statement.
The strong rand had placed the export sector, particularly fruit
canning, under significantly more strain in the global recession.
An industry delegation presented its case at the trade and
industry parliamentary portfolio committee hearing earlier this
month.
"During the hearing, the industry... praised the elevation of
agri-processing, which could support labour-absorbing export
industries in rural areas."
The export-driven R1.5bn fruit canning industry was
trapped between the current rate of exchange, approximately 20% stronger than last year this time, and local cost
increases, including the much-publicised recent electricity hikes.
Nassos Martalas, chief operating officer of Langeberg and Ashton
Foods, the country's largest fruit canner, called for equitable
market access into key markets, particularly of SA products into
the European Union, as well the non-reciprocal treatment of
duty-free access of EU products onto the local market.
In SA the fruit and vegetable canning industry provides
approximately 30 000 jobs in the Western Cape, at more than 30
factories in rural areas. About 17 000 labourers work at more than
1 500 farms supplying the industry. The industry currently supports
more than 120 000 dependants.
- Sapa