Foreign demand motivates Egyptian frozen veg manufacturers to increase investments
The growth of external demand on frozen vegetables and fruits has stimulated Egyptian manufacturers…The growth of external demand on frozen vegetables and fruits has stimulated Egyptian manufacturers to expand their operating investments, starting this year. All this can be accomplished by adding new production lines to their factories or setting up entirely new factories to cover the growing demand.
Abdel Wahed Soliman, the chairman of the British Egyptian Company for General Development, said that the increasing demand for frozen vegetable and fruit products motivated the company to expand in the construction of new factories. This expansion started in 2014, bringing total investments to EGP 500 mln (€29.5 mln).
The company had pumped EGP 112 mln (€6.6 mln) in investments last year to establish the fourth factory, and it is scheduled to open next June, with a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes annually. This factory's entire production will be allocated for export.
According to data from the Food Export Council, exports of frozen vegetables jumped 20% last year to reach $120m, compared to $100m in the previous year.
He explained that the new factory will raise the production capacity of the company's frozen vegetables and fruits to 80,000 tonnes annually, compared to 70,000 tonnes currently, relying on the latest machines similar to those in the US and Europe.
