IFC extends a USD 40 mn senior loan to Nile Sugar

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed a USD 40 mn senior loan agreement with Sawiris-backed beet sugar producer Nile Sugar Company to fund the cultivation of some 13.6k feddans of sugar beet in Minya alongside project infrastructure, machinery, and working capital, according to a statement(pdf). The package should help make Egypt more resilient to global commodity price swings by boosting domestic output.

REMEMBER- We’ve been tracking this transaction since March when IFC first began mulling the package to expand capacity at the sugar refinery. The current agreement will see the IFC deploying USD 20 mn from its own account and mobilizing the remaining USD 20 mn from external co-investors, per the project summary.

IN CONTEXT- The government moved to protect domestic crop refiners by extending a ban on refined sugar imports back in March to shield local factories from cheaper foreign inflows, which have historically triggered high storage costs and inventory pileups. With the market leaning on a 1.3 mn ton surplus to cover near-term consumption, long-term supply stability depends on scaling corporate cultivation projects that mirror Nile Sugar’s Minya footprint.