Astral Competition is for the birds
So Astral Operations Limited, the parent company of Country Bird, has done the manly thing and settled with the Competition Commission (hereafter “The Comish”) to the tune of R17million over the small matter of colluding with its competitors, viz Rainbow Chickens, Afgri, the Sapa and the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association back in the early noughts to divvy up the market through the allocation of territories and customers, to the disadvantage of The Little Feller (Pty) Ltd, charging prices up to 25% higher off a similar cost base. The penalty, harsh as it is, is evidence of the priority with which The Comish addresses threats to the supply and price of staples.
Comment: Collusion, like bed-head hair gel, muffin-top jeans and Ricky Martin was all the rage back then.