and frozen food market, the company announced yesterday.

"This strategic realignment of BGA's business priorities will allow the company to focus more on its core business of serving the Island's grocery and pharmacy outlets,'' chairman Mr. Ward Young and president Mr. Robert Skelley said in a joint statement.

The statement confirmed that staff at BGA would be laid off, although it did not say how many. Neither Mr. Young nor Mr. Skelley could be reached for comment last night.

Over the past two years, BGA made several incursions into wholesale food distribution with the 1991 purchase of Weldon Ltd., a major food importer, and the 1992 acquisition of Purvis Distributors Ltd., a well-known supplier of local supermarkets.

The decision by BGA to reduce its market share leaves some half a dozen other distributors to pick up the slack. The company announced it has negotiated the transfer of several major lines to Bermuda Import and Export Ltd., Butterfield and Vallis and Dunkley's Dairy.

BGA said it would continue to supply dry lines like Kellogg's, Dole, Heinz, Solo Cup and Georgia Pacific to restaurants and hotels and Eggo frozen waffles among frozen food products.

Other frozen food brands that BGA carried and will presumably give up include Hillshire Farms, Mrs. Smith's pies, Sara Lee Bakery products and the Swift Eckrich line of processed meats and Butterball turkeys.

It promised to minimise disruptions to its clientele.

BGA is the importing and wholesale subsidiary of BDC, which also owns the Phoenix drug srores.