Tetra Pak, a global leader in food processing and packaging solutions, sees the Egyptian market as both an opportunity and a challenge. Per Sundelin, the company's marketing director, tells the company's greatest challenge yet is competing with loose milk "Eighty per cent of all the commercially sold milk in Egypt is still in loose format (unprocessed unpacked milk). It is by far the market leader," Per Sundelin, marketing director of Tetra Pak Egypt, told Al-Ahram Weekly. In a bid to do something about this challenge, the company has put down LE5 million to support a campaign designed to boost awareness of the hazards of loose milk. The third phase of that campaign, carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the University of Alexandria, is kicking off this week. Sundelin says that while the campaign will be beneficial for the business because it will create demand for packaging material and machinery, it is not just about Tetra Pak because it is carried out in cooperation with other members of the milk and juice industry who may be using other packaging material. "We are facing very deeply rooted traditions and behaviours. Not only from a business perspective for us and for our customers, but for society as a whole there is a lot to gain to challenge this," said Sundelin. He further pointed out that analysis of random samples has shown that loose milk is not only very often diluted or that it includes preservatives and chemicals to keep it fairly stable during transportation, but it also contains many microorganisms and bacteria. As the company hits its 30th anniversary in Egypt next year, Sundelin says the business here has been growing steadily. The company started with close cooperation with the dairy industry, then expanded into the juice business and during recent years cheeses have been among the fastest growing categories. To try to overcome the fact that packaging may mean a more expensive retail price thus pushing consumers towards loose milk, Sundelin said that the company offers cost-effective solutions. There is practically no difference between the prices of loose milk and cheaper packaged milk any more, he said. So while cost becomes less of a problem, to Sundelin the focus is now on traditions, habits and perception. Still, business is booming in Egypt. "Despite the global crisis in Egypt we continued with investment plans," Sundelin said, pointing out that many customers abroad were very cautious about making major investments and the installation of new filling machines was down. This year, he said, machine sales are picking up, a reflection of customer confidence, and this year is expected to be among the best in the past decade. "In Egypt, growth is at 25 per cent, one of the fastest growing markets worldwide," he added. In fact business is booming across the Middle East, which is Tetra Pak's second-biggest market and also one of the world's fastest growing. China is the company's fastest growing market. Still, "this is one of the regions where we are investing most," Sundelin told the Weekly. A new factory for packaging material is being built in Pakistan. Tetra Pak also has factories in Saudi Arabia and in Turkey. "In order for us to serve our customers and to minimise our impact on the environment, it is important to have packaging materials factories as close to business as possible," Sundelin said. For now, he added, there are no plans for a packing material factory in Egypt. "It requires a substantial home market as well as export markets," he explained. As for Tetra Pak's machinery manufacturing plants, there is one in Sweden, the company's home country, and another in Italy. With so much carton involved Sundelin says that the environment is among the company's focus areas. The company does not use recycled packaging, as "we have taken a decision since we are packing food, we are not using recycled material." However, Sundelin added that the company works with paper mills from a technical perspective to show how the packages can be recycled. And Tetra Pak also works with collectors. "So far we recycle around 20 per cent of the total volume that we are selling," Sundelin told the Weekly. He considers this an achievement, taking into account that there are no legislations or any form of subsidies to encourage people to recycle.
