The government should do more to shield food and sugar producers from the influx of cheap imports, RCL Foods CFO Rob Field said on Tuesday. Given the vulnerability of the two sectors to cheap imports, RCL has shifted investments away from commodity-type production to higher-margin quick-service for the fast food market, Field said after the company released strong results for the year to June. Local producers could not compete with imports on price. "They can land their products here at prices below their cost of production. Government must give us a level playing field. We are efficient producers," he said. RCL’s sugar business also took strain from cheap imports. RCL said an increase in imported sugar offset higher sugar production and improved efficiencies. "The need to establish import parity to quell imports and excess supply drove significant local price decreases of more than 20% during the period." Field said the imports displaced local production volumes, forcing a change i...
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