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Moroccan Tomato Producers announces their plans to Double tomato Exports

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

The Moroccan Association of Fruit and Vegetable Exporting Producers (APEFEL) has announced its plans to double tomato exports amid the ongoing water scarcity crisis.

The source added that the tomato exports would be directed to traditional markets in Europe and Russia as well as new African markets where Moroccan tomatoes are gaining popularity. 

Moroccan tomato exports reached 670,000 tones in the 2021-2022 season, up by 19% compared to the previous season.

According to APEFEL’s Director Laraisse Esserghini, Moroccan tomato producers are ready to make up for the reduced European supply of greenhouse tomatoes, which are facing a shortage due to the energy crisis. 

The Moroccan producers plan to capitalize on the production crisis in Europe by responding to the rising demand for tomatoes while maintaining “high-quality products and affordable prices for consumers.”

However, the water crisis in Morocco is representing a challenge to the local production of water-intensive crops such as tomatoes, citrus, watermelons and avocados.

ALSO READ: Chariot,UM6P and Oort energy partner to launch Green Hydrogen Pilot Projects in Morocco

Esserghini suggested that the introduction of “climate-controlled” greenhouses could help Moroccan producers “make a qualitative leap in production assets” despite the scarcity of water resources.

“Improving the global market reach of Moroccan producers is only possible by improving production structures in a sustainable way,” he explained, adding that the modernization of local production and greenhouses requires significant investments.

“It is a huge investment, but we have the capacity to achieve it if we are supported to invest in more performant greenhouses by the Moroccan government and are reassured by our markets in Europe through an eventual agreement with the European Union,” Esserghini added.

The increase in Moroccan tomato production is likely to trigger uproar among European farmers, particularly among competitors in Spain and France, who have repeatedly condemned the importation of Moroccan fruits and vegetables by EU member states. European farmers have also often questioned the quality of Moroccan products.

Esserghini, however, argued that Morocco produces quality agricultural output that is “well-known” in the industry.

He further predicted that competition with French and Spanish farmers is going to persist with Moroccan producers remaining “able to maintain prices cheaper than the European price level.” This provides a competitive advantage to low-cost Moroccan tomatoes. 

In September, Spanish agriculture-focused daily Hortoinfo reported that Morocco is quickly catching up to Spain in terms of their Iberian tomato exports, adding that “this development could occur in 2022 for the first time in history.” 

The source added that Spain was exporting more than double the amount as Morocco exported 10 years ago. However, Madrid’s advantage fell to 5.2% in 2021.

SOURCE: Morocco news

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BusinessSouthern Africa

Sibanye-Stillwater’s shares for six months slumps by 51%

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Sibanye-Stillwater’s profit for the six months to end-June, slumped by 51% to R12.3 billion from a record level last year. Its latest half-year profit performance is still the third-largest on record.

Apart from weaker prices for gold and platinum group metals (PGM), the group suffered big disruptions at its South African gold and US PGM operations.

Production from the SA gold operations was 63% lower year-on-year, due to a three-month-long strike. Added to this, no ore was processed or sold from the Beatrix operations in the first quarter of the year as activities were suspended to allow for the reinforcement of the tailings storage facility.

The US PGM operations reported a 23% decline due to operational constraints and the impact of flooding in June. PGM production from South Africa was 8% lower than, but its costs were maintained in line with inflation.

“This continued focus on cost management has resulted in the SA PGM operations migrating meaningfully down the industry cost curve since they were acquired,” the company said.

ALSO READ: Sibanye to restart operations at goldmine in SA.

A cash dividend of 138c per share was declared.

Sibanye’s share price climbed 2.3% following the results, but remains 50% below levels reached earlier this year.

Sibanye says it is prioritising growth in green metals or close to, North America and Europe, “in order to establish a preferential position supplying critical metals to the growing battery ecosystems in these regions”.

However, the significant increase in battery metal prices since early 2021, has required a more cautious approach to mergers and acquisitions, the company added. 

Source: News 24

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BusinessSpotlight

King Price to expand its business into Europe

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Short-term insurer King Price plans to launch its life assurance business in the next quarter and is expanding its kingdom into Europe.

King Price CEO Gideon Galloway said Africa remains a key focus for the company, with its Namibian operation currently the fastest-growing short-term insurer in that country.

Galloway said it plans to launch King Price Life in the next quarter, with a stated aim of making the life insurance space simpler and more accessible to ordinary South Africans.

“We launched 10 years ago and started from scratch. The year-on-year growth has been 40% per year. Even during Covid-19 we grew at more than 20% but when you start from zero, you grow a lot faster.

“We will be close to R4 billion in premium income in our financial year end to June, have healthy claims ratios and we were one of the first insurers that offered motor-only policies, for example, when our competitors used to bundle them all together,” he said.

Galloway said the R4 billion in premium income comprises R3 billion in premium income from its South African short-term business with the R4 billion in premium income also including its Namibian business, Denmark and its life assurance business, which in the current financial year will have generated about R400 million in premium income.

Galloway said the company’s expansion into Europe is built on its acquisition of a strategic 20% stake in Danish insurer NEXT in 2021.

He said King Price also plans to launch in Europe through the easySure brand after acquiring a licence to use the ‘easy’ name and brand, which is already entrenched internationally through listed easyJet and easyHotel.

Galloway said the intention is to expand its footprint across Europe and into other continents, and apart from its operations in Denmark, they are “busy lining up three other regions”.

“From day one, we said we wanted to be beyond South Africa’s borders, either exporting our services from here or physically being in another continent”.

“We have had various opportunities throughout these 10 years. Australia was one of them, then Asia. Eventually we got the ‘easy’ brand.

“If you have a brand internationally then you can start to operate because you can imagine for us to make King Price known across Europe would be impossible with advertising in euros and to get your name out there.

“That gives us an edge and our technology gives us an edge there and then you find local partners in countries. It’s more of a franchise model than us trying to do something ourselves,” he said.

King Price deputy CEO Rhett Finch said the ambition was always to look at commercial and life assurance when the timing was right from a technology, gearing, resource and opportunity perspective.

Finch said the insurer came across Stangen and a two-year process ended up with King Price acquiring the company.

“Stangen is now part of our King Price kingdom and our launch platform strategy into life assurance.

“Stangen has a 70-year plus pedigree in the life assurance space from a systems, management teams, pricing, reinsurance relationships and know-how perspective and it was a brand,” he said.

King Price Life already has just under a million lives insured through its acquisition of Stangen and will launch into the market with the Stangen brand and a new brand called King Price livin’.

Finch said the goal is to insure five million lives within five years.

He said that with South Africa’s population of 60 million, King Price is excited about the opportunity in this market after operating “in a highly saturated red ocean of what is called the motor insurance space”.

He stressed it did not take Stangen 70 years to get to almost 1 million life assurance clients.

“It’s taken just over two years to go from 250 000 to 1 million. When we acquired the company it had about 250 000 lives insured.

“There has been about four times growth without us launching our King Price livin’ brand yet.

ALSO READ; Eskom transfers R39.9 billion loan to transmission unit

“It’s the brand we think is going to enable and unlock the growth over the next couple years, aligned with the tech and products and the like. We think the real potential is yet to be unlocked,” he said.

Finch said King Price’s plans for its life assurance business is to provide simple and easy-to-understand comprehensive life assurance to the market.

“It’s a simple statement but it’s been a journey to get there but I believe we have got it right.

“It’s not necessarily about making the benefit different but rather making the benefit easier to understand in terms of what you are buying and what you get out,” he said.

 

Source: Naira Metrics

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Global NewsSpotlightTrending Today

Turkey officially changes name at UN to Türkiye

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Reports of the state-run news agency has reported that the government of Turkey sent a letter to the United Nations formally requesting that it be referred to as “Türkiye’.

“As part of a push by Ankara, the move is seen to rebrand the country and dissociate it from the bird of the same name and negative connotations associated with it”, Stephane Dujarric, Anadolu Agency spokesperson said to UN secretary general António Guterres, confirming receipt of the letter from Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish foreign minister.

The agency quoted Dujarric as saying that the name change had become effective “from the moment” the letter was received. Dujarric told the Washington Post: “It is not uncommon for us to receive such requests.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has been pressing for the internationally recognised name Turkey to be changed to Türkiye (tur-key-YAY) as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish. The country called itself Türkiye in 1923 after its declaration of independence.

In December 2021, Erdoğan ordered the use of Türkiye to better represent Turkish culture and values, including demanding that “Made in Türkiye” be used instead of “Made in Turkey” on exported products. Turkish ministries also began using Türkiye in official documents.

ALSO READ: Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 96th birthday in Sandringham

The government this year released a promotional video as part of its attempts to change its name in English. The video shows tourists from across the world saying “Hello Türkiye” at famous destinations.

The Turkish presidency’s directorate of communications said it launched the campaign “to promote more effectively the use of ‘Türkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms”.

It was not clear whether the name, with a letter that doesn’t exist in the English alphabet, will catch on widely abroad. In 2016, the Czech Republic officially registered its short-form name, Czechia, and while some international institutions use it, many still refer to the country by its longer name.

Turkey’s English-language state broadcaster TRT World has switched to using Türkiye although the word Turkey slips in, used by journalists still trying to get used to the change.

TRT World explained the decision in an article earlier this year, saying Googling “Turkey” brings up a “a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with Meleagris otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird native to North America which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners.”

The network Flip through the Cambridge Dictionary in search of the words meaning and ‘turkey’ is defined as ‘something that fails badly’ or ‘a stupid or silly person’.”

The European country therefore prefers to be called Türkiye, in “keeping with the country’s aims of determining how others should identify it”.

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Global NewsSpotlight

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 96th birthday in Sandringham

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 96 born on April 21 celebrated her official birthday on June 2, 2022 at a celebration named ‘Trooping the Color.‘ The Royal Family, commemorated The Queen’s platinum jubilee at the beginning of the 70th year of her historic reign.

The celebration of her 96th birthday on Thursday was celebrated in Sandringham.

Britain’s longest-reigning monarch travelled by helicopter to her Norfolk estate, where she is being joined by family and friends.

She is thought to be staying in a cottage particularly liked by her late husband, Prince Philip.

A photograph has been released to mark the birthday, showing the Queen with two ponies and reflecting her lifelong interest in horses.

The picture was taken at Windsor Castle, where the Queen now mostly stays, and shows her with two Fell ponies, who appeared in the forthcoming Royal Windsor Horse Show.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wished the Queen happy birthday on Twitter, calling the monarch an “inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world” and sharing a photo of the Queen and Prince Philip with seven of their great-grandchildren.

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Central AfricaPolitics

Democratic Republic of Congo’s president to host Belgian king 

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi will host King Philippe of Belgium in June. This is the first visit by the Belgian King to the former colony since the start of his reign in 2013. The last time a Belgian king visited the country was in 2010 when President Joseph Kabila hosted King Albert II to mark the 50th anniversary of independence.

Esmeralda of Belgium, Leopold III’s youngest daughter and aunt of the current King Philippe, lives in London and is an activist for the environment and Native Americans’ rights.

“Belgium has a heavy colonial past, as do most European countries. But ours in particular is very painful, and I think it is important to recognize that as a Belgian, as a member of the Royal Family. The apology is important because afterwards you can start again on a balanced relationship. Re-establish an important conversation, build bridges”, said Esmeralda, Princess of Belgium.

To mark 60 years of the independence of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the city of Ghent in Belgium is organizing an official ceremony where the statue of the former king Leopold II will be removed from public display.

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PoliticsWestern Africa

UK officially declares IPOB a terrorist organisation, bars members from asylum

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

After years of hesitation, the United Kingdom government has finally accepted Nigeria’s classification of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organization. The Nigerian government had in 2017 designated IPOB a terrorist group following widespread killings and acts of lawlessness by members of the group. But some foreign countries, including UK, which IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, holds its passport, did not acknowledge the declaration at the time.

However, four days after the outlawed group beheaded an army couple, who were on their way to Imo State for their traditional wedding, UK acknowledged IPOB as a terrorist organization directing that it should be excluded from its asylum programme. Although the killing which sparked nationwide outrage was not among the atrocities of the Nnamdi Kanu led terror group, the UK listed in its policy review document, the action was taken a few days after the murder.

The acts of the terrorist group listed by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), a division of the British Home Office were;

The invasion of an All Progressives Congress (APC) meeting in Enugu state where a party chieftain was killed

Attack on an Imo Police Station where an officer was killed

killing of Anambra residents during enforcement of ”sit-at-home” order

killing of some policemen en route to Anambra International Airport, among others.

All these attacks happened in January 2022 alone.

Last year, UKVI had released new guidelines to its decision makers on how to consider and grant asylum applications to IPOB.

But in a fresh update published on its website three days ago, UKVI made a U-turn. “IPOB is proscribed as a terrorist group by the Nigerian government, and members of the group and its paramilitary wing – the Eastern Security Network (created in December 2020) – have reportedly committed human rights violations in Nigeria,” UKVI said in its policy notes.

MASSOB has been banned, but is not a proscribed terrorist group in Nigeria. It too has reportedly been involved in violent clashes with the authorities. “If a person has been involved with IPOB (and/or an affiliated group), MASSOB or any other ‘Biafran’ group that incites or uses violence to achieve its aims, decision makers must consider whether one (or more) of the exclusion clauses under the Refugee Convention is applicable.

“Persons who commit human rights violations must not be granted asylum.”

The policy directed that decision makers must also check if there has been a previous application for a UK visa or another form of leave, noting that asylum applications matched to visas should be investigated before the asylum interview. According to the British government, establishing a convention reason is not sufficient to be recognised as a refugee.

“The question is whether the particular person has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their actual or imputed convention reason,”

For an asylum application to succeed, it said the decision-makers must consider each case on its facts, taking into account the legal status, profile, size, and organisation of the group/organisation to which the person belongs and its activities; whether a person in the UK would wish to continue their activism if returned to Nigeria (if not, why not) and whether the group/organisation has a presence in Nigeria as well as outside of the country and any evidence that it is being monitored by the government.

Source: News Day

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