Food Industries map opportunities for Egypt

The activities of the third session of the Food Industries Summit, which kicked off last Monday, began under the title " Growth Drivers for the Food Industries Sector: Opportunities, Challenges and Motivations". .

At the beginning, Engineer Hisham Arafat, the former Minister of Transport, said that the economic crisis the region is going through, and the global disasters, called for such a summit, which came at an appropriate time, so that decision-makers could obtain data to help them make their decisions. .

He said separating transportation away from logistics is wrong, because transportation is based on logistics, and when talking about logistics, the development that took place in the infrastructure in Egypt with regard to ports qualified Egypt to have a major role in logistics, especially with the number of berths that have been established, whether in Alexandria or Safaga or others, all of which aim to encourage exports. Today, berths are being built to keep up with berths for megaships Today, there are its own "draught" berths, which reach 18 meters .

Arafat also touched on dry ports, which will play a major role in supply chains, and also referred to transport containers and their important role in the transport system.

Arafat recommended the need to start with factories that depend on agricultural products near crops, and the whole world resorts to organic products. Roads must also be linked to agricultural areas, to facilitate transfers to ports, and there is a huge boom in the ports’ gates, but there must be integration with all Competent bodies . He pointed out the need to exploit river transport, with the participation of the private sector, which should be encouraged to participate .

Karim Abu Ghali: There must be actual committees specialized in the file of factory management

Karim Abou Ghaly - Member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Grain Industry, Member of the Export Council for Food Industries and Owner of Regina Company, discussed local and export growth opportunities, challenges, and incentives needed by manufacturers in Egypt. .

Regarding deepening wheat cultivation, he said that the advantage of wheat cultivation lies in the manufacture and export of a complete product, and Egypt imports 10 million tons of wheat annually while consuming 15 million tons, and there is a very strong opportunity for investment, and called for the need to pay attention to manufacturers, and invest the state in projects that it cannot undertake. .

He added that it is necessary to have actual committees specialized in the file of factories management concerned with dealing with all government agencies on the one hand and factories on the other hand, so that they take quick and emergency measures quickly and flexibly for all factories to avoid the problem of closing factories and laying off workers.

The recommendations of the third session included 3 main aspects; The first aspect is agriculture and bringing it from 5% to 50% by focusing on logistics and important products in which investments must be made. The second aspect is industry and the importance of identifying and solving the problems of manufacturers and investors. The third aspect is export, which will include competitive prices and we will be able to From export, if the first and second sides exist, namely agriculture and industry.

Karim Baraka: Infrastructure development is the solution to increase exports

During his participation in the first food industries summit, Karim Baraka, Managing Director of the Savola Group for Food Industries, said that it is necessary to determine the commodities that must be imported, and to know the return that we will get from the import. .

He said that if the state develops the infrastructure, this will reflect positively on the field of food security. . He continued, saying that despite the Egyptian state's investment in the field of infrastructure over the past years, more focus should also be placed on logistics, especially the provision of warehouses or so-called dry ports, whether for complete products, production raw materials, or packaging requirements, as Egypt lacks warehouses greatly. Because the currently available warehouses do not meet the specifications required by the Food Safety Authority, and therefore investment must be made in this matter, as well as strategic places for storage must be determined by the government to obtain the necessary approvals.

Niels Thompson: Investing in human resources and introducing new products is one of the most important catalysts for the growth of the food industry

We are keen to provide complete supply chains for the company, and given the dairy sector in Egypt, we must create a cooperative model capable of overcoming supply chain challenges,” said Niels Thomson, CEO of Juhayna Group . Thompson stressed the importance of infrastructure and training the human element in stimulating the growth of the food industry. In our group, we are interested in investing in human cadres by educating and training employees in dealing with animals and cows, which is what Juhayna is doing. We also care, of course, about quality in relation to the export file, especially since there is a constant demand for products, and many countries target Egypt as an important export market full of promising opportunities.

Regarding the role of the government, he said that it is represented in the supply chain, the speed of administrative tools, and the flow of funds to farmers. From Juhayna's point of view, companies from southern Europe are communicating with us and they are interested in tomatoes and oranges, and that agriculture in Egypt does not depend on rain like southern Europe, but rather on groundwater, which is what It gives it a great advantage, and Egypt can participate greatly in agricultural products, which can be transformed into dairy products, cheese, and new products. .

It is worth noting that Niels Thompson thanked the organizers of the Food Industries Summit, and said that the priority for a company like Juhayna is to secure manufacturing products, and to look at the structure of farms in Egypt. .

Iman Helmy: The authority sets its technical rules according to standard specifications

Dr. Iman Helmy, Acting Head of the Central Administration for Branches at the National Food Safety Authority, participated in the activities of the Food Industries Summit in its first session. .

Dr. Iman Helmy said that the authority’s strategy was changed as a control system, and during the inspection of factories as a food facility, this takes place according to a specific model, and the visit is announced, and the committee meets with factory officials, and all stages of the manufacturing chains are passed through, and the manufacturing model was changed to suit Various factories, to attract investors .

She added that digitization is an important file and the authority has started working on it in a number of initiatives, which included updating the website for registering establishment owners and facilitating procedures, in addition to updating the mechanism for food imports to include multiple control systems. We are currently working on border and post-border control, and import control, in terms of product quality and country of origin .

Regarding standard specifications, she said that the authority sets binding technical rules in accordance with international standards, and Egyptian specifications are binding until relevant technical rules are issued in some horizontal rules. .

Mahmoud El-Bassiouny: The sector has faced various challenges recently

Mahmoud Al-Basiouni, Executive Director of the Chamber of Food Industries, said that the food industries sector faced many challenges in the past period as a result of global challenges, but they are few compared to many countries around us. That is the problem for companies, and there is a problem that 95% of the sector is small companies, and the services provided by the chamber are trying to reach companies in the governorates, and there are requirements for compatibility with the green economy, and there is a waste of opportunities such as industrial waste and water, and we are always discussing new ways to overcome problems . He continued, we also seek to integrate the informal economy into the formal system .