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Business Reporter
A recent proposal to ban flour imports has sucked in diversified group, Innscor Africa Limited through its subsidiary Natfoods in what has been described as a move to support the group’s near monopoly in the flour milling industry.

Players in the bakery industry have raised concern over the push to ban flour imports saying that it will expose the majority of companies who compete with another Innscor subsidiary Bakers Inn.

The players allege that Bakers Inn is getting flour at $28 per 50kg from Natfoods while other bakers are getting it at $36 giving the subsidiary an unfair advantage in a market where quality must be uniform.

Bakery industry companies who spoke to The Herald on condition of anonymity said the scenario to ban imports would create a scenario where an individual group controls raw material supply while owning a bakery will end up exposing other bakery companies, who have been surviving on imports for better prices and quality.

“The proposal to ban flour imports is a decision which should be investigated. It (the investigation) should highlight who benefits from the move. It is a call for selfish and individual gains and not something borne out of national interest.

“Bakeries who are not linked to millers have been the biggest sufferers where the price structure has not been even and the quality of flour supplied to them has been compromised.

“Banning of flour imports might lead to bread shortages considering that the cost structure in a monopolised environment is unsustainable,” said a baking industry source.

An effort to get a comment from Innscor Africa Limited chief executive Mr Antonio Fourie was fruitless as his mobile phone was not reachable.

The Herald Business also failed to get a comment from National Foods chief executive Mr Mike Lashbrook by the time of going to print after having made an effort to send questions through email and whatsapp as per his request.

Innscor’s big brother behaviour also came to light in the past two months where there are allegations that the diversified group influenced the rejection of Lobels bread in TM /Pick ‘n’ Pay shelves.

The case was submitted before the Competition and Tariff Commission who then made a determination leading to the re-admission of Lobels bread on the shelves.

Sources also say the noise made against Bakhresa takeover of Blue Ribbon points to a move that was well orchestrated to kill off competition in the milling industry.