The battle over South Africa’s spicy-chicken market

Competition specialistsIMF tend to be a gloomy lot, even when markets seem to be working pretty well to ordinary folk. But they become especially glum when it comes to South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest industrialised economy.Economists at the blame a lack of competition and the high market power of many South African manufacturers for the country’s weak economic performance. Firms with big shares of the domestic market drive up prices while growing fat and lazy, holding back productivity growth. A tangle of red tape keeps out foreign firms and makes it harder for new ones to sprout at home. Yet a battle for the stomachs of those who love spicy chicken offers hope. It shows that when markets are open to new entrants, South African firms can be fiercely competitive.