Further Agriculture Business Gains for ABF

Associated British Foods PLC
2 November 1999



Further Agriculture Business Gains for ABF                                    

With the acquisition of six animal feed mills from Dalgety Feeds Ltd,
Associated British Foods (ABF) moved towards consolidating its position as a
major producer in the UK market in the rapidly rationalising feeds sector.    

Commenting on this acquisition ABF Chief Executive, Peter Jackson said:-      
                                                                         
'This investment demonstrates our intention of playing a leading role
throughout the food chain. The spotlight is increasingly falling on the animal
feeds sector in the food safety debate and customers are rightly making ever
more challenging technical demands. It is companies such as ABF with our
resources, expertise and integrity, that will meet these requirements
successfully.'                                                                
                                                                              
Five of the mills have strong synergies with ABF's Associated British
Nutrition (ABN) unit and will be managed within this Company. The sixth will
pass to Fishers Group, another ABF business in the agricultural sector
together with Dalgety's livestock marketing operations.    

ABF's business in this sector has grown from a £79 million turnover in 1984
selling mainly sugar beet pulp, to its present turnover of around £635
million, having acquired KW Agriculture, Fishers Feeds, Blended Feeds, Bibby
and a number of other smaller producers since that time. It now supplies all
livestock sectors with a full range of straights, blends and compound feeds.
It has a growing reputation with the major supermarket and food producing
groups for providing quality assured feeds and has dedicated mills supplying
the burgeoning organic sector.                                                
                                                                              
It has also demonstrated international ambitions in the sector by constructing
a brand new feed mill in Shanghai in 1996 and subsequently entered a joint
venture last year which took it to fifth place in the Chinese animal feed
market and which is already profitably marketing half a million tonnes of feed
each year.

Enquiries to:
John Bason, Finance Director - 020-7589 6363