El-Alamia 2000 Company for rice mills and agricultural crops aims to increase its exports by 50% this year. Deputy chairperson of the company Mahmoud Salah said that the company produces 22 products—including pulses and spices—which are exported to nine countries: Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Spain, Italy, and Malaysia. Salah told Daily News Egypt that the company started the inauguration of two new production lines in 2015, in addition to its main line of rice milling. One line is for the production, purification and packaging of cereals, and the other is for the production of spices at a total investment of $400,000 for the machines only. He explained that the production capacity per line amounts to 125 tonnes a day, but the decline in demand and the high cost of production after the decision to float the pound have led to lowering the production to half of its original size. Production plants and warehouses of the company are located on an area of 13,000sqm in Beheira. He said that the volume of imports of pulses and spices declined over the past year by 80%, compared to 2015. The company imports types of grains and spices used within their products from several countries, such as England, France, Germany, Australia, Lithuania, and Canada. The company's imports include beans, lentils, peas, beans, black pepper, and coffee. The domestic market accounts for 10% of the company's sales volume, while 90% of the production is exported abroad. Salah added that the recent economic decisions influenced the Egyptian citizen's consumption rate. There is currently a general trend to rationalise consumption, which will reduce companies' sales volume and weaken the market to attract foreign investment.
