Premier Group has rejected allegations by the Competition Commission that its decision to close a fruit-canning plant in Tulbagh breached the conditions attached to its merger with RFG.
The Commission filed an application with the Competition Tribunal on 7 October, seeking to revoke the conditional approval of the merger.
At the centre of the dispute is the closure of Fruit Products Western Cape (FPWC), which Premier acquired through the RFG transaction. The closure initially involved a Section 189 consultation process that could have affected about 400 permanent employees and 2,000 seasonal workers.
The merger was approved on condition that there would be no merger-related retrenchments for three years. The Commission believes the plant closure and planned job cuts breached this condition.
It also accused Premier and RFG of failing to disclose that the closure was being considered before the merger was approved.
Premier has strongly denied the allegations, saying the closure was not related to the merger and resulted from the wider structural decline of the global fruit-canning industry.
The company said it had been engaging with the Commission about the potential closure since July 2026 and had provided documents detailing the timeline of events.
Premier pointed to rising input costs, weaker global demand, export pressures and the need for greater scale as factors affecting the FPWC business.
The company has also confirmed that voluntary severance packages were offered to affected employees, with most employees choosing to accept them. As a result, Premier said no retrenchments will be implemented.
Premier said it will defend its position before the Tribunal and remains confident that the Commission’s application will not succeed.
Main Image: Daily Investor
