RCL Foods Limited is a

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, but ...

and

milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using rota ...

company. Founded in 1960 as Rainbow Chicken Ltd, the company has its headquarters in Westville near

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, and employs over 20,000 people. RCL is 77.7% owned by the South African investment firm

Remgro Remgro Limited is an investment holding company based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It has interests in banking, financial services, packaging, glass products, medical services, mining, petroleum, beverage, food and personal care products. In ...

. In 2017, the company announced it would be cutting its workforce by 1,350 people due to increased chicken imports into South Africa from

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and the US following the signing of trade agreements with them.

Foodcorp

In 2012, RCL bought a controlling 64.2% stake in the South African packaged foods company Foodcorp for R1.037 billion. In July 2013, RCL completed its buyout of Foodcorp by acquiring a final 23.9% stake for R393 million increasing its total holding in the company to 88.1%. Foodcorp was created following the merger between Kanhym and Fedfood in 1992 making it one of South Africa's largest food companies.

2007 Foodcorp price fixing

In December 2012, Foodcorp voluntarily paid a R88 million fine to the South African Competition Commission for colluding with other bread producers to raise the price of bread by between 30c and 35c per loaf between 1999 and 2007. This fine reflected roughly 10% of Foodcorp's 2010 turnover in bread sales. According to the commission, South Africa's four largest milling companies collectively controlling over 90 percent of the local flour market were involved in colluding with each other. The four firms (Foodcorp,

Tiger Brands Tiger Brands Limited () is a South African packaged goods company. In addition to the company's South African operations, Tiger Brands has direct and indirect interests in international food businesses in Chile, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ke ...

Pioneer Foods Pioneer Foods is a South African packaged goods company and in March 2020 became a subsidiary of PepsiCo. It operates in South Africa as well as two other African countries and exports a number of its brands globally. The company's core busine ...

and Premier Foods) facilitated their pricing activities through secret meetings and telephone calls between employees of these firms at various venues, including churches, stadiums and hotels. The commission found that these price-fixing activities had a negative effect on both consumers as a whole as well as preventing smaller bakeries from being effective competitors.MoneyWeb: "Watchdog refers wheat milling cartel to Tribunal"
15 March 2010

References

{{reflist Food and drink companies of South Africa Companies based in KwaZulu-Natal Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality