Giza to Alexandria: Egypt’s Ingredients For Success

Following on from our recent focus on the delights of Egyptian foods and cuisine, this article seeks to highlight some of the finest food ingredient producers and exporters manufacturing from the historical city of Giza and the bustling metropolis of Alexandria.

The Great Pyramid of Giza may be rightly regarded as a defining symbol and landmark by visitors, but along with Egypt’s largest port city of Alexandria, both regions have also become renowned as centres of innovation and productivity for leading food ingredient and bulk retail food exporters worldwide.

Today, Egypt is swiftly emerging as a key hub for regional food exports in North Africa and government reforms to restore economic stability have made a significant impact.  Egypt has made great strides in restoring the competitiveness of its food ingredients market and advanced plans are in place to increase export markets across the Middle East, Africa and globally, despite the far reaching effects of the pandemic.

As Egypt’s population continues to grow by 2.2% annually, it follows that consumer purchasing of food and essential items is integral to driving economic activity. Food represents 40% of the consumption basket according to CAPMAS, Egypt’s statistic agency and spending per capita on food and non-alcoholic beverages is forecast to grow from USD $262 to USD $436 by 2022.  Perfect climatic conditions for growing  herbs has led to huge varieties of herbs and spices being available for Egypt’s domestic and export markets and the delicious blend of spice, nuts and dates has made the traditional accompaniment of dukkah a nationally treasured dish.

Food ingredients have been used over many years to preserve, flavour, blend, thicken and colour foods and even play an important role in reducing serious nutritional deficiencies among consumers.  Discerning Egyptian consumers not only expect these products to be available all the year around, but also require assurance that each substance is safe before being added to foods. All additives are subject to ongoing safety review so that consumers feel confident about the foods they eat.

An effective way for food ingredient companies to address consumer concerns on food safety is to obtain KLBD certification for their products. Displaying the distinctive KLBD symbol on food products is an instantly recognisable sign that production standards have met the most stringent food safety regulations and this also enhances marketing opportunities throughout the world.

One such company is Herbs Egypt, a leading manufacturer and exporter of fennel seeds, peppermint leaves, rosemary and a host of other exciting dry herbs, seeds and spices. Based in Giza, Herbs Egypt is KLBD certified and exports to countries around the globe. Similarly, the KLBD certified Delta Spice Company has been processing a full range of herbs, seeds and leek and onion products from its state of the art Cairo manufacturing base since 1986.

The family firm of Hashem Brothers is another success story of premium quality essential oil, aromatic and ‘fruit absolute’ products being manufactured from a state of the art production facility in Giza. KLBD certified, Hashem Brothers has cold pressing facilities with the capacity to process daily 20 tons of fruit.

As the name suggests, Frosty Foods specialises in the production and distribution of an exciting range of frozen fruit and vegetables products from its Alexandria manufacturing base. Committed to the highest standards of quality control Frosty Foods carries the KLBD logo.  In Alexandria, another successful KLBD certified company is Galina-Agrofreeze, specialising in the plantation, processing and production of frozen vegetables and fruits and exporting to Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. The company is fully dedicated to the export market with around 100% of the production volume for the export market.

Fruit purees, oils and juice flavourings are just some of the wide-ranging products manufactured and distributed by Dohler in Giza and several other locations around the world. Several products are KLBD registered to demonstrate the importance of quality control processes. Another company enjoying the benefits of kosher certification is Egypt’s leading pasta brand, El-Maleka Pasta, which is available in nine different shapes and presented in eye-catching coloured packaging.

The Egyptian sunny climate provides the optimum harvesting conditions for KLBD certified Stifen Egypt to produce a delicious range of frozen strawberries. This subsidiary is the sister company of the Tunisia Stifen Group, and production facilities are also located in Romania, Portugal and Morocco.

In just a few years, Egypt has undergone a drastic transformation of its food ingredients market to regain the competitiveness it holds today. As this trend continues on an upward trajectory, experts are convinced that Egypt’s healthy appetite for food and drink will only attract more food manufacturers and investors to come on board.

Cairo will be hosting the eagerly anticipated inaugural Food ingredients Africa trade show in October, rescheduled from its planned date in March. This highly prestigious flagship event will provide a dedicated platform for the ingredients and additives sector, which is a major component of the food and beverage industry.