NEW ZEALAND: US wine company Foley Family Wines of Sonoma has acquired The New Zealand Wine Fund for an undisclosed amount. The sale includes 100 hectares of vineyards, of which 85% are planted with Sauvignon Blanc, as well as brands Redwood Pass, Vavasour, Clifford Bay Goldwater, Boatshed Bay and Dash­wood.

The fund produces almost 300,000 cases of wine a year and the deal means almost half of New Zealand's wine production is now in the hands of foreign companies. The sale is subject to clearance by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.

ZAMBIA: Shoprite workers have gone on strike over low salaries and poor conditions just three weeks after their last protest. They are pressing for a better insurance scheme and have claimed that the manage­ment is avoiding salary negotiations. The workers have pledged not to go back to work until they are given a pension scheme with conditions stipulated by Zambian labour laws.

POLAND: Associated British Foods is to sell its Polish sugar business, BSO Poland, to German company Pfeifer & Langen for an undisclosed sum, subject to regulatory approval.

"We are extremely proud of the development of our Polish sugar business. I would like to thank the employees for their hard work and wish them all the best for the future," said ABF chief executive George Weston. "Our market-leading positions with British Sugar in the UK and Azucarera Ebro in Iberia combine to give us a strong presence in the rapidly consolidating EU sugar market."

The business is Poland's fourth-largest sugar producer.

MALAYSIA: Nestlé has signed a deal with the Halal Industry Development Corporation and the Small & Medium Industries Development Corporation to work with smaller suppliers as it seeks to grow its halal business. Nestlé says it wants Malaysia to become its global halal hub while also meeting the growing demand for halal food in the country.

Small and medium companies will supply Nestlé which currently has 150 halal suppliers with raw and semi-processed meat.

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