CAIRO, EGYPT — Al Dahra, a global agribusiness leader based in Abu Dhabi, has partnered with Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) on a five-year deal worth $100 million annually to supply Egypt with a steady supply of high-quality imported milling wheat.
Starting this year, the agreement is a significant boost for food security efforts in Egypt, perennially the world’s largest wheat importer, with improved payment terms and at competitive prices.
“This agreement solidifies our commitment in establishing long-term supply deals with key producers across the world, so that the people of Egypt have access to essential food supplies and strengthening our food grain supply chain buffer to withstand any unexpected shocks in the global markets,” said HE Dr. Ali Al-Moselhy, Egypt’s Minister for Supply and Internal Trade.
Egypt’s wheat imports in marketing year 2023-24 are forecast to increase by 3%, to 10.8 million tonnes, according to April’s Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Food inflation is a major issue in Egypt, as the price of baked products and cereals was 76% higher in February 2023, compared to the same month in 2022, the report noted.
Al Dahra farms 28,000 hectares in Egypt that help sustain the country’s food security by producing staple crops. It is the largest private sector producer of wheat and corn in Egypt in addition to the production of onions, sugar beet, sesame, citrus, sorghum as well as forage for the livestock. Nearly 85% of all produce from Al Dahra’s Egyptian farms are supplied locally, helping reduce the import burden for the government.
With over 160,000 hectares of agricultural land in Egypt, Romania, Serbia, United States and others, Al Dahra specializes in cultivating, producing and trading nearly 3 million tonnes of animal feed and up to 3 million tonnes of essential food commodities through end-to-end supply chain management. Globally, Al Dahra’s production output of grains and oilseeds is about 600,000 tonnes.
“Al Dahra works toward sustainably feeding a growing world, and this agreement aligns with our purpose in one of the key markets in the region, Egypt,” said Arnoud van den Berg, Group chief executive officer of Al Dahra. “This agreement highlights our commitment to food security in the countries we operate in and complements our efforts from our farms in Egypt. Over the past three years, our farms in Egypt have supplied over 180,000 tonnes of wheat at the prevailing local market price making us the largest local private sector supplier of Egyptian wheat to the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC).”
