Staff report CAIRO, May 17, 2018 - The Minister of Trade and Industry, Tarek Kabil, announced on Thursday that one of the Saudi companies investing in the field of agriculture was implementing a huge, LE2 billion project, for the cultivation, processing, production and distribution of dates and olives in Egypt. During a meeting with the Board Chairman of the Zadna Group for Agricultural Investment and Real Estate Development, Abdel Wahab Saleh El Rajehi and his accompanying delegation, Minister Kabil said that the company had begun implementing the project on an area of 1,000 feddans in El-Wahat el-Baharia. The minister said that Egypt is the world No. 1 producer of dates, and the ministry is giving top priority to branding Egyptian dates, increasing its competitiveness both locally and internationally and upgrading all the production chains of the dates sector to increase Egyptian exports and provide employment opportunities for young people. He noted that the Ministry of Trade and Industry was keen on supporting the dates sector, so Egypt could claim its place on the International Map for dates production, especially since the country produces 18 per cent of the total volume of dates production worldwide, which makes it the top producer. The minister stressed the importance of marketing Egyptian dates using trade brands and paying due attention to the processing and packing of dates to maintain a competitive edge at the local, regional and international markets. The board chairman of the Zadna (Our Food) Group said that the company has been interested in the Egyptian market since 2002 as it is considered to be one of the most promising markets for dates production in the Middle East and Africa. The company and the authorities concerned at the Ministry of Trade are holding consultations and coordinating their plans to achieve the quality standards targeted by the company and to facilitate the logistics of transport and storage. The Zadna Group is an Egyptian holding company with Saudi capital, working in the field of cultivating, processing, producing, storing and marketing dates.
