30 Mar 2020

Local food distribution outlet, CA Sales and Distribution, General Manager has assured the public of consistent food supply despite 21-day lockdown in South Africa in the wake of COVID-19.

Mr Bashi Ngwato revealed in an interview recently that CA sales had enough food and commodity supplies in its warehouses to last up to at least four to six weeks.

Particularly pleasing to him was the bilateral agreement between Botswana and South Africa to keep the flow of goods and services open even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a move he said would ensure there was constant supply of food in the local market.

He was also pleased that a special arrangement had been made to ensure that truck drivers transporting goods from South Africa to Botswana would not run the risk of been quarantined as they would only undergo usual screening at the border.

“The food supply chain industry has also pleaded with the relevant authority at border posts to reserve a special counter and lane for trucks transporting goods at the points of entry to ensure timely delivery of goods,” he said.

The current consumer purchasing trends, he said, had indicated an increase in the demand for basic food commodities like rice and bread flour and canned products as well as hygiene products particularly sanitisers.

He assured the public that CA Sales employees had been enrolled as part of the essential service workforce eliminating the risk interruption of services should there be complete shutdown.

Mr Ngwako dismissed as unlikely, the notion of price hike by his company saying as a food distributor their role was that of a middleman between the supplier and the consumer and could not temper with set price.

He had thus implored consumers not to panic buy as that would quickly put a strain on food supplies at warehouses.

“Most food distributors keep a four to five weeks stock and only get a weekly supply of goods and have a 48 hours stock lead time. Panic buying would therefore put pressure on distributors,” he said.

Meanwhile, one of the consumers, Ms Dineo Kgaswane, raised concern on the over dependency on imported food from South Africa and called for a long term strategy to increase investment on local agriculture especially commercial farming to grow local production.

She said government should devise a clear cut policy direction on agriculture that would promote innovations such as genetic engineering which had the potential to help produce early maturity, drought tolerant and high yield crops for the local market.

She was of the view that government should integrate small-scale farmers into national supply chains. ENDS