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by www.foodbusinessafrica.com
Dufil Prima Foods merges with its 3 subsidiaries to bolster position in Nigerian market
NIGERIA – Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Nigeria’s pioneer and largest producer of instant noodles, has merged and absorbed three of its subsidiaries De United Foods Industries Limited (De United), Northern Noodles Limited (NNL) and Pure Flour Mills Limited (PFM).
Merger of the four operations, focusing on noodles, pasta, wheat flour and vegetable cooking oil processing, is aimed at consolidating the company’s efforts in becoming one of the largest FMCG companies in Nigeria.
With Dufil Prima Foods Plc as the surviving and enlarged company, it is set be a stronger manufacturing company that has the critical mass, product line diversity, structure, and market intelligence to compete in the same market as other big manufacturing companies.
Chief Operating Officer, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Adesh Jain said, “This is a huge step towards consolidating our status as Africa’s largest pasta and instant noodle manufacturer.
“This is an attractive combination for stakeholders as customers will benefit from our wider and better-integrated array of products and services; and shareholders will have the opportunity to continue to participate in the success of a bigger enterprise.”
Following the merger, the company still has two more independent subsidiaries in Nigeria i.e., Insignia Print Technology LFTZ Enterprise and Raffles Oil LFTZ Enterprise, alongside its Ghanaian operations.
GA Pet Food Partners invests US$104m into a modern ingredient factory to meet pet food industry demand
UK – GA Pet Food Partners has invested US$104 million to build a new modern ingredient factory to enable it to meet the current demand.
The new production site called Ingredients Kitchen will be able to test, process and keep ingredients as well as ready-to-use products of the pet food industry.
The Ingredients Kitchen currently processes more than 600 ingredients by more than 130 distributors and has a couple of more useful features.
These include a Pick and Mix system, a software watching every step of the production, a lander to store 5 million kg and two automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to bring products and ingredients around the factory.
The new Ingredients Kitchen offers the opportunity to test ingredients like wheat or rice in one of its laboratories to check quality and safety, as they enable a full traceability and a risk evaluation for the particular ingredient. GA also invested money in a new completely automated warehouse.
Moroccan confectioner Marrakech Fine Food opens new processing unit worth US$7m. AfDB green lights US$1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production loan facility
MOROCCO – Marrakech Fine Food (MFF), a Moroccan agrifood manufacturer, has inaugurated a US$7 million biscuit and chocolate processing factory.
This follows the signing of an investment agreement between the food processor and the government of Morocco in 2021 focused on industrial development and job creation in the Maghreb kingdom.
Opening of the new factory is set to create 80 direct jobs and boost local production of top-of-the-range confectionery.
Speaking at the inauguration, The Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour said that the new investment “will contribute to strengthening the industrial sovereignty of our country and to the development of national exports.”
MFF is part of the Imperium Holding Group. Through its MFF subsidiary, the Group has a leading market position in the high-end biscuit and chocolate segment, with a development strategy aimed at meeting market needs and to diversify its range of top-of-the-range products intended mainly for export.
FOOD SECURITY
AFRICA — The African Development Bank Group has begun disbursements of loans under its US$1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility designed to help African countries avert a looming food crisis caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and persisting impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The facility seeks to produce an additional 38 million tonnes of food – worth US$ 12 billion – in Africa over the next two years.
The first beneficiaries of the fund are 850,000 Senegalese small-scale farmers, as the board of the developmental institution has issued €121 million (US$121m) loan to the West African country for implementation of an emergency agricultural programme.
Under the facility, Nigeria’s National Agriculture Growth Scheme – Agro has been granted a US$134 million loan to scale up food production and boost livelihood resilience.
In Egypt, the African Development Bank Board of Directors has approved a loan of US$ 271 million to finance the country’s Food Security and Economic Resilience Support Program.
The program includes two major components: Support for the Food Security Response and Build Private Sector and Fiscal Resilience.
The AfDB has also approved a US$73.5 million loan to finance Tanzania Agricultural Inputs Support Project and a further €63 million (US$63m) to significantly boost cereals and oil seeds production in Kenya by over 1.5 million metric tonnes over the next two years.
The AfDB has also approved a US$8.1 million grant to South Sudan to fund the ongoing Agricultural Markets, Value Addition and Trade Development Project (AMVAT) which seeks to reduce
food insecurity and poverty, bolster economic growth and social cohesion, and also build community and household resilience.
FINANCIALS
Flour Mills of Nigeria’s attains 45% growth in top-line performance in Q1
NIGERIA — Nigeria’s leading integrated Food and Agro-allied group, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has reported a 45.3% rise in first quarter revenue to N339.6billion from N233.7billion reported in prior corresponding period.
The bullish top-line performance was supported by solid growth across all the company’s segments including the Food, Agro-Allied Sugar, and Supportive operations.
The Food segment attained 45% rise in revenue to N213.166 billion from N146.925 billion in 2021 while AgroAllied segment registered a 37% growth to N65.652 billion from N47.688 billion.
Its sugar portfolio saw a 64% revenue with stabilized trading environments and strong demand for brown sugar which is locally produced at its farm in Sunti.
Meanwhile the animal feeds business attained 21% revenue growth, driven by investments in logistics infrastructure and farmer training extension services across the country.
The interim results which were released to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) indicated that operating expenses increased by 52% to N14.7 billion, versus the prior period of 2021 which stood at N9.7billion.
The miller continued to focus on investments enroute to consumer redistribution resulting in 8,000 new outlets in Q1 2022 and launched new SKUs in the starch and fertilizer business segments, and commenced operation of fertilizer blending plant in Kaduna with a 90 tonnes per hour capacity.
Gross profit reached N33.2 billion in Q1’22, up from N25.7 billion in Q1 2021. In the period under review, FMN reported a nearly one per cent increase in profit before tax to N7.33billion in Q1 2022 from N7.26billion in Q1 2021, while profit after tax closed Q1 2022 at N5.49billion, representing an increase of one per cent from N5.45billion in Q1 2021.
The Group Managing Director Omoboyede Olusanya, in a statement, stated that despite the challenging socio-economic environment, the company continued to deliver strong business performance with resilience and operational excellence. “Our increased operational efficiency with accelerated plans for our supply chain optimization, content localization, and cost optimization across our business segments has helped to cushion the sharp rise in the cost of raw materials.
“We would always be committed to our purpose of Feeding the Nation, Everyday through our offerings of quality products and services. The Group is dedicated to achieving sector strategic growth opportunities, both organic and inorganic with keen determination as we continue to create value for our shareholders.”
FMN forecasts future growth following the finalization of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc’s acquisition based on an enterprise value of N80 billion (US$193m). The miller announced its plan to acquire nearly 72% stake in HFM in November 2021, before receiving regulatory approval in May 2022.
Zimbabwe milling industry to help milling companies weather ongoing grain shortage
ZIMBABWE — The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) says the milling industry has put in place measures to protect companies from closing on account of grain shortages.
GMAZ Chairman Tafadzwa Musarara allayed fears that with grain shortages affecting millers, the sector could be forced to cut jobs. “We don’t anticipate any of the milling companies closing down on account of grain shortages,” Musarara told Standardbusiness.
“We have a plan in place. We are currently operating at 45% capacity and the market is well supplied and we believe that aggregate demand is slow and it will peak as we enter the agricultural marketing season."
The GMAZ secured 400,000 tonnes of maize as a means of ensuring food sufficiency in the country, following an invitation by Cabinet for private grain millers to commence maize imports using free funds to complement local stocks.
Grands Moulins d’Abidjan invests US$15.7M on 6 new cereal silos in Abidjan
IVORY COAST – Grands Moulins d’Abidjan (GMA), an agrifood company specializing in the production and marketing of flour and wheat products has invested US$15.7 million on 6 new cereal silos in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The new installations, which have a total capacity of 28,000 tonnes, allow the company to increase its storage potential in the nation to 50,000 tonnes of grain and achieve a crusher volume of 300,000 tonnes of cereals annually.
With the added capacity, GMA will be better positioned to meet the growing flour needs of the national market, both from consumers and from industrialists in the wheat-flour bakery sector.
“This storage capacity increase is one of our parent company Seabord Corporation’s objectives to be more competitive in the Ivorian millers’ market,” indicates Marc Alexy, deputy general manager of GMA.
This inauguration, which comes in a context of soaring wheat prices, should comfort the Ivorian government in its strategy to ensure a regular supply of wheat flour that meets the required standards in terms of safety.
EVENT REVIEW
Bühler hosts successful Networking Days to accelerate impact together worldwide
SWITZERLAND – Swiss technology group Bühler brought together decision makers from across the World at its Networking Days in Uzwil, Switzerland in late June, in a demonstration of the commitment of businesses to be at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis to protect and restore nature and biodiversity and close the gap in wealth distribution.
At the event, Bühler Group CEO, Stefan Scheiber, told guests from more than 1,000 representatives of the world’s leading companies from 95 countries in the food, animal feed, and mobility sectors that despite businesses recently facing myriad obstacles, the examples of vaccine research, advances in digitalization and the development of communication at scale during the lockdown all demonstrated the capacity of business to rise to global challenges when required. “We have experienced the power of science and innovation with industries collaborating at a new scale,” said Scheiber. “In our industries the innovation rate has never been as high as it is today, which creates impact because we need new technologies and widespread collaboration to tackle new challenges, and at the same time secure the future of our businesses in a responsible way. We need technologies, we need collaboration, and responsible leadership to shape the future.”
The 2022 event with the motto “accelerating impact together” focused on leadership, the need for corporate purpose, education, technology, and innovation, along with examples of how companies are leveraging technology to protect biodiversity, improve food security, and promote social equality.
Speaking at the event, Ranjay Gulati, Harvard Professor of Business Administration, and author of “Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of HighPerformance Companies”, warned company leaders not to get wrapped up in complex metrics around Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) when companies achieve far more impact by having a clearly articulated social purpose.
In a session on how good business leadership is needed to mitigate climate change, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said that in uncertain times leadership qualities could be distilled down to three key attributes: he told delegates that when assessing future leaders at Microsoft he looked for their ability to generate energy, deliver results under constraints, and create clarity when none exists. “We live in a complex uncertain world, there will always be ambiguity in our work, true leaders always bring clarity and make a call even during uncertain times,” said Nadella.
Speaking in the same session keynote speaker Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, the German multinational software corporation with over 400,000 customers globally, spoke of the need for leaders to thoroughly understanding their industry and business, especially when it comes to complexity within supply chains.
Delegates also heard from three startups driving sustainability through hightech advances in cellular agriculture, satellite monitoring of restoration projects, and carbon removal.
In a move to help achieve its own climate change targets to have solutions ready to multiply that reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers by 2025, Bühler announced that it had assessed the impact of its different processing solutions, on waste, energy, and water consumption, land use and CO2e footprint, along with assessments of how the technological advances impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the benefits for circular economy. “By evaluating the impact of our solutions, we can then start tracking their overall accumulative impact,” said Ian Roberts, Bühler CTO.
FOOD SECURITY
UN Fund makes US$12m contribution towards mitigating starvation in Sudan
SUDAN — The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has made a US$12 million contribution towards a new project to provide emergency agriculture and livestock supplies to thousands of farming and pastoral communities in Sudan.
The project aims to rapidly reduce dependence on emergency food assistance in a country where a decade high of 10.9 million people are faced with the looming threat of starvation.
Assistance covers the provision of crop, legume and vegetable seeds, donkey ploughs and hand tools, veterinary vaccines and drugs, animal feed, as well as donkey carts and productive livestock.
It also includes provision of cash and the rehabilitation of community assets such as small-scale water infrastructure, pasture and hafirs, or artificial ponds for harvesting rainwater.
“This generous contribution from CERF means that FAO can urgently provide essential agricultural inputs to vulnerable farming households before the main agriculture season starts in June. It will ensure that they can produce enough food to meet their needs for the months to come,” said Babagana Ahmadu, FAO Representative to the Sudan.
While the CERF donation is vital in attenuating the starvation threat, FAO added that another US$35 million is urgently needed to ensure adequate support for two million vulnerable farming and pastoral households in Sudan.
Cargill, Continental Grain finalize US$4.5b acquisition of Sanderson Farms
USA — Cargill and Continental Grain Company have finalized their US$4.5billion acquisition of Sanderson Farms, Inc. through a joint venture between the two companies.
Following the takeover, Sanderson Farms has been merged with Wayne Farms, a subsidiary of Continental Grain, forming a new privately held poultry business named Wayne-Sanderson Farms. Clint Rivers, currently CEO of Wayne Farms, has been appointed CEO of the combined company.
The combination of Wayne and Sanderson brings together two companies with different customer bases that could benefit from each other’s strengths.
With sales in its 2020 fiscal year exceeding US$3.5billion Sanderson Farms has a huge presence in retail stores such as H-E-B, Walmart and Albertsons with its trays of fresh chicken.
Wayne Farms, with annual sales of more than US$2billion, is largely focused on foodservice and restaurants, including Chick-Fil-A and Jack in the Box.
Together, the two companies would control roughly 15% of U.S. chicken production, trailing only Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride.
Wayne-Sanderson Farms will operate chicken processing plants and prepared foods plants across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas.
COMMODITY TRADE
Kenya wants greater share of Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda maize exports
KENYA — Kenya is seeking to limit Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda from exporting maize to other countries at its expense in fresh efforts to curb the surge in maize flour prices and ease the pinch of inflation.
Kenya traditionally receives imports from Uganda and Tanzania, but trade flows in the grain have shifted to other countries, with the bulk of Ugandan maize now heading to South Sudan.
Countries in the region are also competing for a limited white maize stock for both human consumption and manufacturing of animal feeds following disruption in the supply of the grain from Ukraine and Russia.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya says the country has opened talks with the three countries to guarantee Kenya a share of the maize export to plug the shortfall in supplies.
Mr Munya also said the government would intervene on logistical challenges faced by businesspeople in shipping in the produce, which has seen the cost of transport more than double.
The Treasury opened the import window in May to allow millers to bring in maize from outside of Africa duty-free. However, the processors said they could not ship in the commodity because of scarcity and high prices in the international market.
RUSSIAUKRAINE WAR DISRUPTED GRAIN SUPPLY, UPS COMPETITION FOR LIMITED WHITE MAIZE STOCK
General Mills to acquire TNT Crust to expand away-from-home presence
USA — American packaged food company, General Mills has announced plans to acquire TNT Crust, a manufacturer of frozen pizza crusts.
TNT Crust manufactures frozen pizza crusts for regional and national pizza chains, foodservice distributors and retail outlets. Its net sales totaled approximately US$100m in 2021.
TNT’s products, which include partially baked and self-rising pizza crusts, “are highly complementary to General Mills’ existing frozen baked goods portfolio,” according to a company statement.
“This acquisition advances our Accelerate strategy and builds on our strong position in the fast-growing awayfrom-home frozen baked goods category,” said Shawn O’Grady, General Mills’ group president of North America foodservice.
TNT also gives General Mills a deeper presence in frozen pizza, already having a presence in pizza and frozen offerings with Totino’s pizza rolls and Pillsbury Pizza Crusts.
As part of the acquisition, General Mills will acquire two manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, and one in Missouri.
The purchase of TNT Crust is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of General Mills’ fiscal 2023 year.
MAR 30-APRIL 1, 2023
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ExpoExpoInsurance of the unique features and benefits of their products in relation to healthy eating and living; • Africa Provide a forum for providers of health, personal
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Tanzania Grain Board to invest US$8.7 M on construction of milling plants Kenya extends duty exemptions to additional feed ingredients
TANZANIA — Tanzania Cereals and Other Products Board (CPB) is set to invest US$ 8.7 million to construct three new maize flour and paddy processing and milling plants with the aim of strengthening its competitiveness and exploring the emerging trade opportunities in the East Africa region.
The first facility is a maize-cassava composite flour processing plant to be set up in the city of Mwanza, with a value of US$2.1 million upon completion and an estimated daily production of 125 tons of flour mixtures made from maize and cassava.
The second plant is a paddy milling factory set to be constructed in Keyla district Mbeya region, with an expected daily production capacity of 96 tons of rice. The third factory will be installed in the town of Mzizma and is expected to have a processing capacity of 100 tons of maize flour per day.
The funds will also enable the CPB to install new warehouses and silos in order to increase its grain storage capacity to 600,000 tonnes, compared to the current 120,000 tonnes.
COMMODITY TRADE
KENYA — The Government of Kenya has issued additional tariff exemptions for genetically engineered Bt. cottonseed cake, distillers’ dried grains with solubles, and rapeseed cake to address rising feed costs.
With the exception of Bt. cottonseed cake, the June gazette requires most feed ingredients to be 99.1 percent free of GE content to benefit from market entry and duty exemptions.
However, this threshold effectively excludes GE-derived products like DDGS. Kenya’s primary feed constraint remains a lack of an adequate supply of ingredients from non-GE producing countries.
International supplies of key feed ingredients are dominated by GE-producing countries, making conventional alternatives relatively scarce.
Additionally, advance contracting of conventional crops reduces the supply of non-GE soybeans available for shortterm buying, complicating purchases for immediate delivery.
The revision stipulates that import of yellow corn, Soybeans, soy meal, sunflower cake and white sorghum must be accompanied by a certificate of conformity issued by KEBS, must only be used for the manufacture of animal feeds and must have been imported on or before October 31, 2022.
FOOD SECURITY
Liberia to cut on rice imports dependency courtesy of US$4.3m support from EIB
LIBERIA – Liberia’s rice value chain is set to benefit from a EUR 4 million (US$4.3m) support from the European Investment Bank (EIB), aimed to boost performance of the sector and enhance food security in the country.
The overall investment program is expected to support the entire rice value chain, improving production, building irrigation, upgrading food laboratories, enhancing warehousing and logistics.
This will in turn reduce Liberia’s dependency on rice imports to improve food and nutrition security and create local jobs in rice production, storage and distribution. It will further reduce the impact of the war in Ukraine and recent global economic shocks on Liberia.
Over the coming months, detailed feasibility studies will identify priority investment that can transform rice production in Liberia and enable large scale financing across the sector.
“The European Investment Bank is committed to scaling up investment to strengthen food security, improve domestic agricultural production and create jobs and reduce the impact of global food supply shocks on local consumers,” said Ambroise Fayolle, European Investment Bank Vice President.
INVESTMENTS
BSBIOS to invest US$58.25 m in setting up wheat ethanol plant in Brazil
BRAZIL — Brazilian biofuels company BSBIOS is set to put up an initial investment of US$58.25 million into the construction of the first large-scale ethanol plant in the state of Rio Grande do Sul processing wheat.
The project will be developed in two phases. The first phase is designed with an annual production capacity of 111 million litres of ethanol with production set to start in the second half of 2024. The second stage will expand the capacity of the plant to 220 million litres by 2027.
Currently, Rio Grande do Sul imports 99% of its ethanol to meet demand, and the new plant will supply 23% of this need by 2027 when it reaches full capacity.
The BSBIOS investment comes as part of the State Policy of Stimulus to Ethanol Production, which created the State Program for the Development of the Ethanol Production Chain (ProEthanol) to encourage more production within the state, a region not well-suited for growing sugarcane for ethanol.
BSBIOS also has partnered with Biotrigo Genética, a leading company in genetic improvement of wheat in Latin America. The company is working on
the genetic development of two wheat cultivars with high levels of starch exclusively for ethanol production.
THE PLANT WILL SUPPLY 23% OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL'S ETHANOL BY 2027 WHEN IT REACHES FULL CAPACITY.
FOOD SECURITY
Nutreco receives US$4.8m grant to establish feed mills in hard-to-reach communities in Africa
AFRICA —– Nutreco, a Dutch producer of animal nutrition, fish feed and processed meat products, has received a US$4.8 million grant to establish feed mills to hard-to-reach communities in Africa
The grant, awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is one of the first investments from the foundation in the animal feed space and is set go towards accelerating the implementation of localized, sustainable complete feed production in sub-Saharan Africa.
The grant will directly fund 21 Hendrix4U complete feed production projects initially in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Uganda.
Hendrix4U provides a ‘factory-in-abox’ for rural areas ensuring access to quality compound feed production for small-scale producers, in a financially sustainable way, said Nutreco.
In addition to the facilities themselves, feed-producing distributors will learn how to evaluate raw materials in terms of quality and nutritional values to validate the use of local crops for specific animal nutrition applications.
Post Holdings to invest US$110M to expand Nevada facility cereal production capacity
USA — Post Holdings, an American consumer packaged goods holding company, is set to invest US$110 million to expand its cereal production capacity its Sparks, Nevada facility.
The investment will address capacity constraints, reduce transportation costs and to serve West Coast customers more efficiently.
Project planning and implementation will begin immediately and once the expansion is completed— projected for 2025— it will create approximately 30-40 new jobs.
“Adding capacity in Sparks will help us balance our network geographically and provide us with greater flexibility to best serve our customers,” said Nicolas Catoggio, President and CEO, Post Consumer Brands.
The plant expansion is as wager that demand for its portfolio of cereals will continue as it is and with 34.4 million people living on the West Coast, making up roughly 11% of the U.S. population, according to U.S. Census data, Post has a large market base there.
The plant addition appears to be the newest construction project for Post, after having announced last year plans to spend US$86 million to construct a new 215,000-squarefoot manufacturing facility in West Jefferson, Ohio.
FOOD SECURITY
IsDB finances Cameroon rice production with US$84.62M loan
CAMEROON — The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has approved a loan of US$ 176.12 million to the Cameroonian government to contribute to rice self-sufficiency and enhance economic growth.
The objectives will be achieved through the development of 5,000ha of land; rehabilitation of roads; construction of markets; construction of storage facilities; establishment of rice processing units; capacity building of farmers and other stakeholders; and access to finance.
This would result in an increase in rice productivity from 4.5 Ton/Ha to 6 Ton/Ha, an increase in rice National production by 10%, the creation of 210,000 jobs and a reduction in postharvest losses.
The Cameroonian Minister of Economy, Alamine Ousmane Mey, who was also present at the meeting, said the resources will be used to promote the local rice sub-sector via the Rice Value Chain Development Program. With this initiative, the government seeks to boost the local production of rice and significantly reduce its imports
Rice is one of the main food products imported into Cameroon. According to the National Institute of Statistics
(INS), in the first half of 2021, rice alone accounted for 5% of Cameroon’s total imports, which amounted to US$ 2.9 billion for 5.07 million tons of goods.
China, Zambia sign agreement on soya bean meal, stevia exports
ZAMBIA — Zambia and China have signed two protocols on sanitary and phytosanitary export of soya bean meal and stevia leaves to the Asian country.
The protocols were signed by Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Du Xiaohui and Zambia’s Minister of Agriculture Mtolo Phiri in the presence of Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema who said it was a mark of true friendship between China and Zambia.
“We are very delighted that we have another market for our agricultural products,” said the president, noting that the move will ensure more trade cooperation between the two countries, which will create more jobs in Zambia.
The Chinese envoy said after signing the two protocols that China will strengthen its cooperation with Zambia in the agriculture sector.
The deal comes on the heels of an announcement by Zambia’s Ministry of an increase in soya bean production in the 2021/2022 farming season. With an estimated production of 475, 353 metric tonnes, oilseeds stakeholders have allowed the Grain Traders Association of Zambia-GTAZ to export 100,000 metric tonnes of soya beans.
This will allow the traders to participate in soya beans marketing and venture into the export market, which will in turn be of benefit to the entire value chain which is key to future expansion of soya beans production in Zambia, one of Africa's leading producers.
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Olam Agri secures US$200 M IFC loan to boost food production
SINGAPORE — Olam Agri, the food, feed and fiber agribusiness subsidiary of Singapore-based Olam Group, has secured a US$200 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to boost food production.
Olam said the loan will be used to finance the purchase of wheat, maize and soy from Canada, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and the United States.
The commodities then will be delivered to Olam’s processing operations and customers in developing countries, including Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Thailand and Turkey.
The loan is a part of IFC’s broader efforts to address food insecurity in light of rising food prices driven by impacts of COVID-19, adverse climate events and the ongoing RussiaUkraine war.
The goal is to help ease food price inflation, particularly in fragile, conflict-affected, and poorer countries that are net food importers, which are among the worst affected, and where food purchases comprise an outsized share of disposable incomes.
FOOD SECURITY
ICARDA furthers aim to fortify global crops with a new genebank in Morocco
MOROCCO — The new International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) Morocco gene bank officially opened on May 18 in Rabat, Morocco.
The ICARDA Morocco genebank offers the key to climate-resilient traits that can help strengthen global crops in the face of stresses such as soaring temperatures, pests, and water scarcity.
It conserves and researches an impressive collection of 95,000 accessions (groups of plant genetic resources) collected from the region, including wheat, barley, chickpea, faba bean, lentil, and forage genetic material.
This plant and seed matter are the ancestors of today’s crops that evolved in the wild, in the harsh environment of water scarcity and heat.
The new genebank has been
designed with cold rooms large enough to conserve ICARDA’s entire genetic resource collection for up to 100 years before regeneration.
It also includes new, cutting-edge
technology that allows for research on species within strictly controlled environmental conditions, essential to identifying useful traits in crops for climate adaptation.
The facility— the third that ICARDA has established since the research center was founded in 1977— supplements ICARDA’s existing genebanks at Svalbard in Sweden and Beirut in Lebanon.
THE GENEBANK OFFERS THE KEY TO CLIMATERESILIENT TRAITS THAT CAN HELP STRENGTHEN GLOBAL CROPS AGAINST SOARING TEMPERATURES AND PESTS
ACQUISITION
Agthia to acquire majority stake in Egyptian snacks company Abu Auf Holding
EGYPT — United Arab Emirates food and beverage group Agthia is poised to take a 60% stake in Egyptian snacks company Abu Auf Holding, subject to regulatory approvals.
After completion of the deal, which is subject to regulatory conditions, the founders will hold 30% and TCV, an Egyptian private equity firm which invested in Abu Auf in 2019, will hold a
10% stake.
Abu Auf, located in New Cairo, manufactures a range of consumer products sold via the direct-to-consumer channel and through 200 retail outlets in Egypt, and three that recently opened in the United Arab Emirates. The business supplies markets in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US.
Financial terms were not disclosed for the stake in the Egyptian company, which generated revenue of AED236m (US$64.2million) in the year to 31 December and EBITDA of AED58million.
Agthia has been on a deal-making spree in an effort to become the biggest food and beverage company in the region by 2025.
In May, Agthia announced expansion into Saudi Arabia with a greenfield investment worth Dh90m (US$24.5 million) that will be used to set up a manufacturing unit in the kingdom.
Do Good Foods to invest US$100m in Indiana animal-feed production facility
USA — Do Good Foods (DGF) has announced plans to invest up to US$100 million in an animal-feed production facility near Fort Wayne International Airport in Idaho which will create up to 100 new jobs by the end of 2024.
Launched in 2021 Do Good Foods is a sustainable foods producer that uses surplus from grocery stores and farmers markets to produce nutritious animal feed.
Do Good’s mission is to reduce and ultimately eliminate food waste. Each Do Good Chicken saves approximately four pounds of surplus groceries from being thrown away, preventing approximately three pounds of greenhouse gases. The 150,000-square-foot facility will allow the company to divert food waste from up to 450 supermarkets and repurpose about 60,000 tons of food waste on an annual basis.
Based on the company’s job creation plans, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) committed an investment of up to US$1.2 million in the form of incentive-based tax credits and up to US$100,000 in conditional training grants.
Construction is expected to be complete in late 2024 and production to begin in early 2025. The facility will reduce the amount of food waste, and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, in surrounding landfills.
