PROCUREMENT NEWS ON FASTMOVING

Meat processing companies, Meatco and Witvlei Meat, have once again bid for the lucrative beef export quota to Norway, which is set at 1600 tonnes per year and pays 72% more than exports to other parts of Europe. Earlier this month, the Meat Board of Namibia requested for bids for the Norway quota from local meat companies.  read more

Despite a year on year decline of 7.6%, the worldwide PC market didn’t do as badly as it was expected to do in Q3 2013. read more

Washington - Citrus production in Florida, the world's second largest orange juice supplier after Brazil, is being threatened by a bacteria from Asia that has scientists racing for a remedy. read more

Johannesburg - South African liquor company Distell Group Limited [JSE:DST] has acquired a 60% share in fast-growing liquor distribution company CJ Wines & Spirits‚ expanding its presence in the East. read more

Rome - Global food prices are not expected to fall much further after their fifth consecutive monthly decline in September, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday, trimming its estimate for 2013/14 world cereals production. read more

Massmart has confirmed it is interested in buying a major stake in Kenyan retailer Naivas. read more

Government has secured a loan of 7.3 million euros for investment in the banana industry to ensure the production of quality bananas for export, said Dr Hawkins Asiedu, a Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.  read more

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest maker of televisions, expects a recovery in the TV market in the second half of this year, helped by an improving US economy and the launch of new high-end sets. read more

Engen, the oil company of choice in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, is driving a major change in the fuel market landscape by introducing cutting-edge convenience shopping in its fast-growing service station network in the region.  read more

Johannesburg - Spar Group Ltd., a South African food and liquor retailer, is working with an Angolan partner to open a store in the country’s capital, Luanda, in the next six months, Finance Director Mark Godfrey said. read more

Johannesburg - A newly introduced digital customs management system at border posts would be positive for business and trade, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday. read more

Johannesburg, 21 August 2013 – Imperial increased its revenue in its logistics businesses to R34 billion for the financial year ending 30 June 2013, achieving 21% growth. The European and African Divisions contributed almost equally, with revenue from African countries outside South Africa contributing almost 15% to total revenue. read more

Ten fishing companies have been fined $3.1 million for illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU) in the country’s waters and in breach of Ghana’s fishing regulations.  read more

A total of 25 Chinese enterprises worth US$1.2 million have been set up in the Chambishi Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) in the past year, the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has said.  read more

Cairo - Egypt is in the early stages of an export boom, suggesting its economy could begin to recover in the next few months if a minimum level of political stability is restored. read more

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 6.0% year over year in the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13), while the shipment of smartphones grew 52.3% according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). read more

The Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) successfully held its annual business summit, annual general meeting and gala & business awards ceremony on June 28 and 29. The annual events have become an influential platform for business leaders, together with political leaders and government officials, to compare notes on issues of significant importance to the growth and competitiveness of the country's economy. read more

The Competition Tribunal will resume a hearing into allegations of anti-competitive behaviour by South African Breweries (SAB), the local division of SABMiller.  read more

New research from the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that PC shipments in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) continued to contract in the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13). read more

Cape Town - The Western Cape department of agriculture, together with Wines of South Africa, recently hosted the second Beijing Wine Tasting in China.  read more

Coca-Cola through Nairobi Bottlers has invested Sh1.2 billion in a new manufacturing plant that produces materials for production of plastic bottles. read more

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) of Ghana has warned prospective importers of Zambeef Products produced in Zambia to immediately halt any processes to get the beef into Ghana. read more

Aspen Pharmacare’s purchase of a Merck division would probably spur South Africa’s largest drug maker to sell its first bonds to diversify debt, money manager Anchor Capital said on Friday. read more

Johannesburg - Grindrod, Africa’s biggest shipping company, advanced to the highest in almost five years, as shipping costs rose and the rand weakened.  read more

Johannesburg - South African white corn futures rose the most in more than three weeks on speculation of tight local supplies. read more

The injection of long-term capital into Victoria Foods and the debt restructuring initiative is projected to induce positive performance for diversified CFI Holdings Limited. read more

OK Zimbabwe has signed an agreement with a South Africa-based company, Kawena, to enable Zimbabweans resident in South Africa to purchase goods for family and friends back home. read more

Walvis Bay - Namibia should not allow itself to be held hostage by any single market, says the Minister of Trade and Industry Calle Schlettwein. read more

Tipplers will have to shell out more to buy liquor in the capital with the Delhi Government approving a hike in alcohol rates as part of new excise policy, late last month.  read more

Ghana is projected to increase its local processing of cocoa to 40% in the coming years, according to the 2013 Economic Report on Africa (ERA) released on March 25, 2013. read more

London - Iran has ramped up its campaign to import wheat, buying more than 800,000 tonnes in two weeks in what some traders said was a drive to ensure adequate supplies for a possibly tense period after Friday's election.  read more

Global smartphone shipments are expected to reach 958.8 million units in 2013, surpassing feature phone shipments for the first time, the IDC says. read more

Harare – Zimbabwe’s leading grocer OK Zimbabwe, whose revenues for the year to March 31 surged 16.3% to US$479.6m, is planning to open two new stores and modernise five others during the current year. read more

Johannesburg - South African corn declined for a second day after a report from the US Department of Agriculture showed more production than anticipated.  read more

Brussels - International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and the European Commission vice president Baroness Catherine Ashton are having talks behind closed doors at the European external affairs headquarters in Belgium's capital.  read more

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart is launching an initiative to increase the amount of fresh produce on its shelves. The effort includes buying produce directly from growers for immediate shipment to stores, performing independent weekly fresh produce checks at stores and providing fresh produce training for associates.  read more

Speaking at the Buy Zimbabwe procurement conference in Harare yesterday, Kasukuwere said companies should comply with the stipulated procurement regulations, in which local firms should be granted at least 50% contracts on procurement deals. read more

A new property sector is opening up in African markets as retailers growing their presence there are now in need of or building their own distribution warehouses, according to Belinda Clur, managing director of Clur Research International. read more

New Delhi: Liquor prices are set to rise in the coming weeks as the cabinet cleared the new excise policy on Monday. While the policy leaves the licence fee untouched for the financial year 2013-2014, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) will be dearer by 5% and country liquor by 11% once the new rates are notified in June.  read more

Beijing - Manufacturing activity slowed in China in April as exports were hit by sluggish overseas demand, HSBC said on Tuesday, fuelling concerns about the strength of the world's second-largest economy. read more

Paris - French food group Danone said Tuesday the explosion in demand for baby formula in China helped lift sales by 4.3% in the first quarter of the year to €5.3bn ($6.9bn). read more

Local market analysts have lauded NSX listed Namibia Breweries Limited for posting solid interim results for the period ended 31 December 2012. read more

The Kenyan government planned to sell a large part of its stake in a domestic wines and spirits marketer to South Africa’s Distell Group, the privatisation commission said on Friday read more

The Managing Director of Unilever Ghana Limited, David Mureithi has resigned. read more

GIiant beer and spirits maker East African Breweries posted a 14 per cent drop in net profits in its half year profits due to high financing and distribution and raw material procurement costs, the brewer said earlier this year.  read more

Johannesburg - South African corn futures weakened for a second day to the lowest level in more than a month, tracking US prices that fell following reports of bigger-than-expected stockpiles. read more

New York - US retail giant Walmart said on Tuesday it expected to suffer financial losses amid an ongoing probe into corruption scandals involving foreign subsidiaries. read more

South Africa, the eighth-biggest wine producer, is seeking to regain a foothold in the US market lost to imports from Australia to Argentina by promoting brands at Walmart Stores and Whole Foods Market, a diplomat said last week.  read more

Lonrho’s Oceanfresh Seafoods, local purveyor of fresh and frozen seafood, has recently been listed in Sam’s Club stores in the US.  read more

VENTURES AFRICA – Barloworld Logistics, a unit of the JSE-listed diversified industrials giant, Barloworld Goup, is expanding its specialised logistics solutions to the Arab states of the Gulf, it said on Monday. read more

Grindrod shares rose to their highest level in more than four years yesterday as investors bet on earnings growth driven by diversification into ports and terminals. read more

Harare - Zimbabwe is working on putting stringent measures on meat imports from South Africa amid concerns of contaminated meat products from the country.  read more

Johannesburg - Shares of Grindrod [JSE:GND] rose more than 2% after the shipping firm posted a 22% rise in full-year earnings, beating market expectations. read more

Johannesburg – The South African Breweries (SAB) has announced a R700m investment in a state-of-the-art new maltings plant in Alrode‚ Gauteng‚ as part of its continued efforts to support the local economy and drive job creation. read more

Johannesburg - South African corn futures fell to the lowest in more than eight months as the rand gained against the dollar on February 1, reducing the cost of imports. read more

New York - The world's biggest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, reported Tuesday a big jump in fourth-quarter earnings as cost-cutting efforts plus a gain from an asset sale helped offset the loss of exclusivity of a blockbuster cholesterol drug.  read more

Choppies, the BSE-listed supermarket chain, seems to be paying the price for fast expansion across the country and its vigorous entry into the South African market. read more

Bentonville, Arkansas - Wal-Mart Stores has alerted its global suppliers that it will immediately drop them if they subcontract their work to factories that haven't been authorised by the discounter. read more

London - Up to half of all the food produced worldwide ends up going to waste due to poor harvesting, storage and transport methods as well as irresponsible retailer and consumer behaviour, a report said on Thursday.  read more

South African maize futures finished lower on Tuesday in line with lower US grain prices due to slackening demand. read more

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) will invest Sh4.3 billion in expanding capacity at its Ruaraka-based plant as it seeks to increase efficiency.  read more

South Africa’s Woolworths will hold a 51 per cent stake in a joint venture it has formed with Kenya’s Deacons, giving it control in the operations of the new company. read more

The worldwide smart connected device market – a collective view of PCs, tablets, and smartphones – grew 27.1% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12) reaching a record 303.6 million shipments valued at $140.4 billion. read more

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed diversified entity Meikles Limited is this week set to unveil is its second state-of-the-art Pick ’n’ Pay supermarket bringing to two such branches in the country. read more

Mississsauga, Ontario -- Walmart Canada on Friday opened its 200th supercenter, in Edmonton, Alberta.  read more

Johannesburg - The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) expressed concern on Thursday about revisions to the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) codes of good practice.  read more

Cape Town - Electrical appliances which are not certified by the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) pose a serious threat to consumers' lives, Parliament's energy portfolio committee warned on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - South African consumers are "spoilt for choice" and need to be convinced to buy local products, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Monday.  read more

Munich - Siemens AG's procurement chief Barbara Kux looks set to leave the company in 2013, five years after becoming the German engineering conglomerate's first female top manager. read more

Johannesburg - Transnet's locomotive acquisition spree and Eskom's build programme present two of the best opportunities to increase local procurement, the department of public enterprises said on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - The state is not the primary job creator in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.  read more

Moves by local government authorities in China to relax customs procedures will help global retail companies to streamline their supply chains, logistics experts predict.  read more

Chief procurement officers at the world's largest companies predict their businesses, unable to manage the range of risks affecting their global supply chains, will lose €140m on average over the next 12 months as a result of supply chain disruptions, according to a recent report. read more

A concerted effort by British retailer Sainsbury's to increase the volume of direct global sourcing has contributed to a £104m increase in working capital during the first half of 2011, according to its interim report published today.  read more

An increasing number of organisations are improving their service delivery performance by enhancing and expanding outsourcing and shared service efforts globally, according to new research.  read more

Johannesburg - Local manufacturers and smallholder farmers stand to benefit materially from Massmart's supply development fund, with the quality and competitiveness of their products expected to reach greater heights, the fund's CEO Mncane Mthunzi said on Thursday.  read more

South African businesses have signed an accord with government, unions and civil society, aimed to help the struggling manufacturing sector. read more