Saudi Arabian dairy company, Almarai, the largest dairy company in the Gulf, and Pepsico will invest at least $345 million to build a new juice factory, a 5,000 cow dairy farm, and to expand its facilities, sales networks, and vehicle fleet in Egypt. After three years lacking investments because of political turmoil, the deal is a sign that industry is regaining confidence in the country. The deal is being conducted through the Egyptian dairy and juice firm International Company for Agro-Industrial Projects (Beyti) a subsidiary of International Dairy & Juice Ltd which is majority owned by Almarai and Pepsico. Almarai CEO Abdulrahman Al Fadley states that he aims for the investment to reach $560 million in the next five years. Egypt is looking to gain $10 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the coming fiscal year beginning in July, and $14 billion over the next three years. With this year’s election of Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, there is an atmosphere of greater political and economic stability in Egypt, and its young population and geographic proximity to markets in Africa make the country appealing to agricultural and ag processing companies.
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