- Reduces minimum purchasing quantity of bran from 30 tonnes to 10 tonnes
- Acknowledges intervention was prompted by complaints from small consumers
Acting on growing complaints from smaller consumers and businesses, the Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) has reached a collaborative agreement with Foods Botswana on the minimum amount of bran that can be purchased from the giant miller.
“On 10th July 2023, the CCA and Foods Botswana mutually agreed to reduce the minimum purchase quantity for bran from 30 tonnes to 10 tonnes to enhance access to bran for customers, including small businesses and individuals who may have been previously constrained,” CCA says in a press release. Bran is a milling by-product of sorghum, wheat, maize and other grains that can be used as an input in fodder production or directly fed to livestock.
Inclusive marketplace
Serowe-based Foods Botswana, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Sefalana Holding Company Limited, makes sorghum, soya and maize products for retailing as well as Tsabana and Malutu exclusively for the government feeding scheme, in the process churning bran in large quantities.
In its press release, CCA says the agreement with Foods Botswana aligns with its commitment to promoting a competitive and inclusive marketplace for the benefit of the consumers, saying it comes at an opportune moment when the government has just declared 2022/23 a severe arable agricultural drought year throughout the country. “The Authority therefore commends Foods Botswana for its cooperation in reducing market concentration and improving consumer choice in the market for the retailing of bran,” says the press release.
Large businesses
CCA acknowledges that the intervention was prompted by several complaints from consumers and other stakeholders about access to bran at Foods Botswana, which initially had established a minimum purchase quantity of 30 metric tonnes that seemed to limit market access and competition in the retailing of bran as only a few large businesses could meet the requirement, leading to market concentration.
Based on the complaints, CCA engaged Foods Botswana to remove the identified market constraint and reduce the minimum purchase quantity of bran to allow access by many more businesses. Effective from 21 July 2023, customers can now purchase a minimum of 10 tonnes of bran from Foods Botswana.
