Traditional coffee millers are calling on the Ministry of Trade and Industry to help them modernize to be able to compete with coffeehouse chains such as Starbucks and Columbus. Traditional mills say they have been experiencing a recent decline in business. In a meeting on Saturday, coffee mill owners called on the Industry Modernization Center to help them modernize. They said the global chains and companies who have been innovating with different kinds of cappuccino, Turkish coffee and other kinds of blended coffee threaten their business, despite measures taken to develop traditional coffee mills a few years ago. The Starbucks and Colombus chains sell a variety of coffee-based hot and cold drinks and deliver directly to homes and offices in many areas. The coffee business in Egypt depends on importing green coffee and producing it in two forms: ground and instant coffee. The private sector dominates ground coffee production with many coffee mills competing to sell it, whereas instant coffee is produced by only one company in Egypt. Its annual production volume is 950 tons, and about 95 percent of that is exported. According to a report issued by the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, other companies cover the local market by packaging instant coffee after it is imported from abroad. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
