Efforts to localize infant formula production are getting serious: The Egyptian Armed Forces-linked Mostakbal Misr Agency for Sustainable Development is gearing up to build a USD 500 mn baby formula factory in partnership with the private sector, Asharq Business reports, citing the agency’s spokesperson Khaled Salah. Around 40k cows will need to be imported and 50k fedans of farmland for grazing crops planted to supply the factory with around 1 mn liters of milk a year, he added.

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The game plan: The factory, which is set to come online in early 2027, will meet around 50% of local market demand by producing 40-45 mn packages in its first phase before scaling up to fulfill all domestic needs.

Cutting our import bill is a priority of the project: The move aims to slash imports of the product — which currently stand at around USD 1 bn annually — and follows recent calls by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to establish a domestic factory to address “unreasonable” import levels.

Private players are interested: A number of local and Emirati private players have thrown their hats in the ring for the project, Salah said.

We had an idea that the state was interested in the project: The Trade Ministry said last week that the government is planning to establish a factory for baby formula production.

As things stand: There is a single baby formula plant in Egypt — Lacto Misr — whose productsare sold locally and abroad.

A similar project was previously shelved: The government had been in negotiations with an Australian company to set up the region’s largest formula factory, but negotiations fell through after studies found that the factory would add as a packaging plant, relying solely on imported materials, an unnamed official told Asharq.

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