Memorable MPO AGM and congress

MPO chairman Mr Tom Turner described the MPO’s annual general meeting, congress and gala dinner on 11 September 2014 in Bloemfontein as “memorable and the best ever”. Messrs Tom Turner and Nigel Lok were unanimously re-elected MPO chairman and vice-chairman at the AGM. Renowned speakers Dr Roelof Botha, Prof Johan Willemse, Drs Ferdi Meyer and Peter Vitaliano and Messrs Deon Scheepers and Les Kugel gave delegates much to think about. The messages were positive and presented numerous opportunities for growth in agriculture and dairy, in particular, in South Africa and the rest of the continent. Producers were urged to focus on profitability and not price and were presented with various options for price setting mechanisms to consider. Mr Bertus de Jongh, MPO chief executive, said the speakers gave producers a new perspective on the dynamics involving price setting. He added that it is clear that the current price setting mechanism in the dairy industry is less than ideal and that much more work is required to find a workable solution.