Ross Botswana
Ross Botswana is a subsidiary of the CBH Group through Ross Africa. Formed in 2005 through the acquisition of a majority stake in a hatchery, it is the leading supplier of day-old chicks in Botswana and employs over six hundred people. It runs a feed mill in Gaborone (the Nutri Feeds division), breeder farms at Thamaga and Molepolole, hatcheries at Notwane and Francistown, and broiler and processing operations. Its chicks are Ross 308 broilers.
Tswana Pride
Tswana Pride is one of the largest broiler producers in the country and the main supplier to fast food chains, including KFC, Chicken Licken, Hungry Lion and Nando’s. It is owned by businessman Satar Dada and forms part of a group with interests across chicks, feed and cold storage.
Notwane Poultry and Richmark
Notwane Poultry (Amigear Ventures) took over the poultry interests of Bokomo Botswana in 2017 through a joint venture between PF Brink and management. It runs commercial egg production at Gaborone and Palapye with around 230,000 layers, sells eggs under the Notwane Eggs brand, and sells chicken under the Richmark Chickens brand, distributed nationally.
Other producers
Other broiler producers named in industry and academic sources include Goodwill Chickens, Dikoko Tsa Botswana and Bobbsies. Small and medium farms, many supplying local markets and some contracted to the large processors, make up the rest of production.
Why integration matters
The Competition and Consumer Authority’s market study found that the largest producers have ties to South African firms, that import restrictions shield them from competition, and that contract growing arrangements with abattoirs and processors put small farmers in a difficult position. For a small farmer this means chick supply, feed price and access to buyers are all influenced by a handful of companies. For a buyer it means most branded chicken in a Botswana supermarket comes from the same few producers.