The South African seafood division of Lonrho has signed a deal to supply the US retailing giant Walmart.
Walmart will be stocking Oceanfresh’s pure hake fillets in 500 of its stores from October this year.
The Oceanfresh fillets come from wild caught, sustainably sourced white hake that is caught in the Benguela current off the coast of Southern Africa.
Oceanfresh is among the first South African companies to supply seafood to Walmart's US operations, with hake being a new line for the retailer. Oceanfresh said the agreement had led it to expand its production capabilities in South Africa, with the contract due to lead to more than 100 new direct jobs and hundreds of new indirect jobs to meet the new Walmart orders.
Walmart said it is committed to providing its customers with seafood from responsibly managed sustainable sources, with the sustainable fishing policies operated by Oceanfresh in Southern Africa under the WWF SASSI programme (the World Wildlife Fund-endorsed Southern Africa Sustainable Sourcing Initiative) being a key factor in Walmart choosing Oceanfresh as a supplier.
Commenting, David Lenigas, Lonrho's executive chairman, said: “Lonrho is delighted that Oceanfresh has been appointed as a fish supplier to the world's largest retailer Walmart.
“Lonrho understands the importance of responsible fishing policies and prides itself on delivering the best quality products that are wild caught and from well managed and sustainable sources.”
He concluded: “Lonrho's Oceanfresh division has been diligent in working with the World Wildlife Fund's sustainable sourcing program to ensure that fish stocks are properly managed and that catch quotas are within sustainable levels to maintain wild fish stocks for future generations.”
London-based Lonrho invests in and builds businesses in Africa. It operates in five industry sectors: infrastructure, transport, agribusiness, hotels and support services.
