November 27, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (Mitsui) has agreed to invest in Wadi Poultry, an Egyptian integrated poultry business encompassing the production of breeding chickens, the production and processing of broilers, the manufacturing of processed foods, the sale and distribution of these products, and the procurement of feed grain. 

Wadi has been producing Parent Stock (the parent birds of broilers) for over 30 years, and with the completion of this deal its holding company will become an associated company of Mitsui. 

This deal harkens back to another in August 2023 when Mitsui invested $US360 million through a Singapore-based holding company in  Ecuador’s Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila (IPSP), the largest shrimp farming company in the world.

Both investments reflect an ongoing focus by Mitsui on the future of protein production as it works to form a Protein Business Cluster that focuses investment in the growing areas such as the shrimp and chicken value chains, and then pursuing synergies among the businesses. 

“Mitsui has identified Wellness Ecosystem Creation as one of its Key Strategic Initiatives in its Medium-term Management Plan 2026,” stated the company. “By providing healthy food, Mitsui will contribute to the improvement of people’s quality of life.”

The company noted numerous upsides to targeting chicken for investment: it has the highest feed efficiency of any animal protein; there are few religious constraints on its consumption; and it can be supplied at a relatively affordable price. These factors are among the reasons that Mitsui stated it sees chicken as contributing to the sustainable growth of emerging economies, where demand is expected to increase in step with population and economic growth. 

One such economy is Egypt, which is undergoing significant economic development as its population rapidly expands. The country has a 95 percent self-sufficiency rate in poultry production, having seen a 6.5 percent annual rise in output since 1966. In 2021, production was recorded at 1.6 million metric tons, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.3 percent to reach 1.8 million metric tons by 2026.

Mitsui and its group of companies have been developing an integrated production business covering all stages of the chain from feed grain procurement to broiler production, processing, meat packing, manufacturing, and distribution, especially in Japan and other Asian countries. However, this initiative began to expand into North and West Africa. 

In 2018, Mitsui invested in Zalar Holding S.A., the largest broiler business in Morocco and Senegal, and has applied its expertise and knowledge accumulated via its subsidiary Prifoods Co. to optimize Zalar Holding’s operations, leading to productivity improvements and the reliable supply of safe, high-quality products. The aim of this investment in Wadi Poultry is to expand upon this success and its chicken business cluster into Egypt, one of the largest markets in Africa based on population. 

“Through this investment,” stated the company, “Mitsui aims to expand the added value of its food and nutrition business cluster, enhance health and well-being through food, and thereby support the realization of richer and brighter lives for people.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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