Egypt Aims to Meet Local Sugar Demand

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The sugar industry in Egypt relies on sugarcane for 60% of its feed and 40% from sugar beets. According to an April 2010 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the total cane harvested in 2009-10 in Egypt was estimated at 183,000 hectares, and the total for beets was measured at 151,200 hectares compared to 98,000 hectares in the previous year. A slight increase is expected for the coming year.

Cane is grown primarily in Upper Egypt, planted in January and harvested in mid-December. Cane processing is monopolized by the public-sector Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (SIIC).

Egyptian Sugar consumption per capita is about 33 kilograms per year, and is expected to increase in 2010/11 as it is driven by population growth. To meet local demand, SIIC has announced a plan to import raw sugar in May 2010.

The growth in local demand has encouraged private-sector companies to enter the sugar industry in Egypt. There are investment opportunities for refineries, for both the domestic market and exports. Agricultural conglomerate Cargill (Minneapolis, Minnesota) will build a $120 million sugar refinery plant in Egypt to help meet domestic demand, said Amr Assal, Egypt's Industrial Development Authority Chairman, in a statement. The refinery is expected to be online at end of 2012. The company is looking for a financing authority to fund the project's different activities.

Cargill has been active in Egypt since 1994. As well as its trading activities in Cairo and logistics activities in Alexandria, Cargill also has a majority share in a soybean processing plant, the National Vegetable Oils Company, in Borg Al-Arab, and a majority shareholding in a grain discharge terminal, the National Stevedoring Company, in Dekheila.

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