By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA’s fast-food chains are struggling with stock and being forced to close as load shedding hampers their operations, with Nandos warning of a threat to fresh food supply.
Mike Cathie, the CEO of Nando’s South Africa, told the Sunday Times that the intensifying blackouts are leading to a supply crunch on chicken – threatening the company’s fresh food supply.
Cathie said that while none of its restaurants have closed due to chicken shortages, it continues to be tough to manage supply across its national footprint with seemingly nonstop load-shedding.
“As long as load-shedding remains, so do the significant threat to the fresh food supply. We can expect to have a continued tough year ahead, but we are confident we have adequate plans and contingencies in place,” said Mike.
Astral Foods, the country’s largest poultry producer that supplies restaurants such as KFC, Nando’s and Spur, said that power cuts make it increasingly difficult to do business.
The company’s latest ESG Summary Report for the year ended 30 September 2022 reported a direct loss of R126 million due to the power cuts.
Meanwhile the multiple farming industry representatives have approached the government to push back against load shedding as it limits food security across the country.
On 13 January, stakeholders from the agricultural sector held a meeting with Thoko Didiza, the agriculture minister. The members said that irrigation systems, livestock maintenance, and temperature regulation in chicken coops are all hindered by consistent load shedding.
The CEO of Agri SA, Christo van der Rheede, said that the future of the country’s food security remains unclear: “We stood as a sector and made the minister aware of the seriousness of the electricity problem. For example, the chicken farmers expressed fear that they wouldn’t be able to slaughter enough, which would lead to shortages.”
Eskom, the failing national power utility, has recently pushed load shedding to stage 6 with more frequent and longer periods of rolling blackouts.