CC2016/02 Mandiriza, T., Sithebe, T. and Viljoen, M. (2016). The impact of the agro-processing competitiveness fund in facilitating entry into selected agro-processing sectors.

We evaluate the success of the Agro-Processing Competitiveness Fund (“APCF”) as a remedy through which to provide redress to firms whose entry and expansion was stifled as a result of the cartelisation of the bread, wheat and white maize milling, poultry and eggs industries by Pioneer. This analysis involved evaluating the actual results of the Fund, which were then compared to the Fund’s potential impact as estimated through the output and employment multipliers. It is found that, thus far, the APCF has achieved its objectives in terms of facilitating the entry and expansion of non-dominant firms in the agro-processing and beverages sectors. In addition, the Fund has contributed to job creation and the crowding-in of funding, particularly in those subsectors which were cartelised by Pioneer. It is concluded that the achievements of the APCF can potentially serve as a sound benchmark against which similar remedies may be developed and assessed.