Nestlé has resumed its operations in Zimbabwe following the suspension of its activities last month over a dispute on buying milk from suppliers linked to the wife of President Robert Mugabe. The Swiss food giant said the Zimbabwe plant had received a visit from government officials on 19 December who forced staff to take delivery of a tanker of milk from non-contracted suppliers. Two of its managers were questioned by police and released without charge the same day. As a result, Nestlé said it... ...Read more »

The world’s largest food manufacturer has suspended operations at its dairy plant in Zimbabwe due to safety concerns. Nestlé decided in October to sever ties with farms owned by Grace Mugabe – the wife of controversial president Robert Mugabe – after facing a barrage of criticism when the link was discovered. The company said at the time that, given a number of their dairy suppliers in the country had gone bust early this year, they had little choice but to source milk from Mugabe-owned... ...Read more »

Nestle has remained silent on reports that the Zimbabwe government has launched an investigation into the Swiss food giant’s financial dealings in the country. According to a report in the Dominion Post, the Zimbabwe authorities indicated that they have identified two possible “irregular” transactions and frozen Nestle’s accounts while an investigation takes place. A spokesperson for the company told just-food that the group was unable to comment on whether the Zimbabwe government... ...Read more »

The operations of the world’s biggest food manufacturer in Zimbabwe may be threatened, according to reports emerging from the African nation. Swiss-based Nestlé lost half of their Zimbabwean suppliers at the beginning of the year, which they said led them to sourcing milk from a farm owned by Grace Mugabe – the wife of President Robert Mugabe. Less than a fortnight ago, they advised that they were now exiting a supply arrangement with the farm in question in the wake of unfavourable... ...Read more »

Nestlé Zimbabwe has announced that they will no longer be receiving milk from the Gushungo Dairy Estate owned by the wife of President Robert Mugabe from Sunday 4 October. Up to 15 per cent of their Zimbabwean milk supply has been sourced from the Grace Mugabe-owned farm after half of their contracted suppliers went out of business early in the year. The Swiss company maintained, in the face of heavy recent criticism, that a food shortage in the country would have been exacerbated had they not sourced... ...Read more »

The world’s largest food manufacturer, Swiss-based Nestlé, has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons this week thanks to a link to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Nestle has admitted that up to 15 per cent of its milk supply from Zimbabwe comes from a farm owned by the wife of controversial President Robert Mugabe. However, they maintain that the crisis in the Zimbabwean dairy sector has left them with little alternative. Nestlé began receiving milk from one of her farms early... ...Read more »

Leading UK retailer Tesco has announced they will stop sourcing products from Zimbabwe until the political crisis in the country is resolved. The amount of produce Tesco sources from Zimbabwe – worth around £1 million per year – is insignificant in terms of global trade and influence, but they still feel that given the current climate they can no longer receive any food from the African country. “This is a difficult decision to take,” a statement from Tesco claimed. “We... ...Read more »