SA’s fruit canning industry under threat as Premier Foods plans closure

The prospective closure of Premier Foods’s fruit processing plant in Tulbagh has raised concerns well beyond the loss of factory jobs. Premier has begun a Section 189 consultation process on the proposed closure of Fruit Products Western Cape (FPWC). Producers face uncertainty“Basically half the capacity for the industry will disappear,” said Jacques Jordaan, chief executive of the Canning Fruit Producers’ Association (CFPA). Read:It points to the closure of one of the United States’ two major fruit canning operations earlier this year. Listen: Premier Foods investments pay off as profit climbs 31%He said similar retrenchments following mergers had occurred elsewhere, and he cited PepsiCo’s acquisition of Pioneer Foods.