Destruction of Tiko: the casualty for the country

The economic role of the Group was to fill the national production gap in the food sector. Of the 150 000 tons of imported rice to satisfy national demand, the Magro distributor sold 89 500 tons of it, more or less 60% of the market. Tiko’s market share of imported flour was even more important, 85 000 of the 120 000 tons introduced in the country, or 71%. Tiko had quite the monopoly on the food oil market. The same for the production of milk, yogurt and butter. “Either we like it or not, the Tiko group had a very important place in the national life, said Hanitrinaina Razafimanantsoa. It used to play a price regulating role” 

Tiko represents nearly 2500 direct jobs and 11 000 indirect jobs. Ravalomanana’s corporation used to be the income source for peasants, farmers, breeders, distributors… With a turnover of 8 billions of ariary, Tiko contributes up to 1.6 billion of ariary to the state fund. 

Since its creation in 1979, investments injected in the Tiko group have been amounting up to 210 billions of ariary. Even though the enterprise has been qualified as a” very personal good” of Marc Ravalomanana at the time of the political crisis and the depredations, foreign involvements in the capital and the investments do exist. In the same way, Tiko contracted debts from the financial backers, valued to 45 billions of ariary. It must pay 3.5 billions of ariary per year in interests to banks. 

“the monopoly has been pretexted to destroy Tiko “, deplored Me Razafimanantsoa. She values the prejudice of the havocs and depredations during the political crisis to 102 billions of ariary. Goods taken by force by the HAT are estimated to 45 billions of ariary. 

There are persons responsible of all that “, finished the lawyer, asserting that the goal was to allow other people to take Tiko’s market over. “If something is destroyed to make place for something worse, it is unacceptable “, pleaded Me Razafimanatsoa. The remains of Tiko are requisitioned by the HAT. 

The economic propaganda doesn’t make it anymore. Those who destroyed the Madagascan agro-industry nugget under pretext to lower the prices were wrong. The crisis grows and impacts on the purchasing power. The prices of first necessity goods and fuels flare up. The inflation is eased by the “rice harvest” which means a price downfall, for the time being.