Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Nestlé SA in Vevey says its subsidiary in Zimbabwe will stop buying milk Sunday 4 October from Gushunga Dairy, reportedly owned by Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. The Mugabes are both on Swiss and European sanctions lists which forbid financial transactions with over 200 individuals and some 40 companies in Zimbabwe, but the sanctions do not apply to transactions within Zimbabwe. The multinational in Vevey has been under pressure this week, particularly from British and South African media, for buying the milk.
The Vevey office issued a statement Friday morning 2 October: “The Dairy Board of Zimbabwe today informed the Gushungo Dairy Estate, and the seven other farms with whom Nestlé began working on a temporary basis in February 2009, that it is now in a position to resume purchasing their milk. Nestlé Zimbabwe therefore will no longer be receiving milk from these eight farms from Sunday 4 October.”
GenevaLunch asked Nestlé about the timing of the announcement from the board, coming right on the heels of public criticism of Nestlé.
