UNITED States-based commodities giant Cargill Inc will stop trading in South Africa from mid-December to mid-January due to worries over preparations for the millennium bug, London’s Financial Times reported on Thursday. The paper quotes a letter from the head of the group’s South African subsidiary to the Department of Agriculture in Pretoria, pointing to a “worst case” assessment by a US computer consultancy analysing the risks of the bug. “We plan to avoid entering into or executing trades in maize, oilseeds, wheat or any other commodity in the period December 15 to January 15,” the letter said. According to the letter, US consultancy Gartner Group puts SA in a high risk category for the bug, and that in the worst case scenario its transport systems and government services could face 80% disruption.
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