audi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Engineer Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Kharif, and the Egyptian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Farouk, along with Diaa Hamad, Deputy Ambassador of Egypt, and Commercial Attaché Minister Osama Pasha, Head of the Commercial Representation Office in Jeddah, visited the pavilion of the Egyptian-Swiss Group for Pasta, Flour, and Concentrates at the Saudi Food Exhibition.
Engineer Ahmed El-Sabai, General Manager of the Egyptian-Swiss Group for Pasta, Flour, and Concentrates, stated that the group has been keen on participating in the exhibition since its first edition last year.
The Minister praised the strong participation of Egyptian companies in the exhibition and the robust economic relations between the two countries, expressing a desire for further cooperation.
Egypt participates with a large pavilion comprising 25 companies at the Saudi Food Show exhibition during the period from May 21 to May 23, 2024, which is one of the largest specialized exhibitions in the food sector in the Arab region.
El-Sabai revealed that the group achieved growth in its pasta exports last year, doubling its exports, as a result of contracts signed during the previous edition of the exhibition last year.
He also unveiled the Egyptian-Swiss Group’s plan to double its exports to Saudi Arabia during the current year, as well as expanding into the Gulf countries and the Middle East region.
The Egyptian-Swiss operations began in 1995 in flour trading after the liberation of flour prices. It then entered the manufacturing sector by establishing a flour mill in Asyut, followed by another mill in Borg El Arab three years later and distributing flour in the local market.
It then expanded into flour industries by establishing a pasta factory in the Tenth of Ramadan with a production capacity of 7,500 tons of pasta per month. It subsequently established a tomato sauce factory to capitalize on the pasta distribution market with a production capacity of 3,500 tons per month. It later added a giant flour mill with two production lines, reaching a production capacity of 1,500 tons per day, and owns wheat silos with a storage capacity of 50,000 tons of wheat.
During the first quarter of 2024, Saudi Arabia ranked first in the list of top importing countries for Egyptian manufactured food products, with a value of $131 million, representing 8.4% of the total sector exports during that period, amounting to $1.6 billion. It achieved a growth rate of 9% compared to exports in the first quarter of 2023.
Saudi Arabia also ranked as the second most important market for Egyptian manufactured food products in 2023, with a value of $400 million, representing 8% of the total sector exports of $5.1 billion.
The number of Egyptian food exporting companies to Saudi Arabia in 2023 is approximately 426 companies, including 66 companies with exports exceeding $1 million, and 179 companies with exports exceeding $100,000.
