PROJECT PROFILE- Egypt’s planned green food centers to cut down on food waste: With an eye to reduce food waste and streamline the logistics of getting food from farm to table, the Madbouly government is currently working on a “green food center” project. These centers — which will be logistics hubs for the wholesale of fruit and vegetables providing refrigeration, packing, and sorting facilities — are designed to serve both exports and the local market. The waste will be minimized by creating a more contained and sustainable supply chain.

Background: Egypt plans to set up 17 green food centers in concert with the private sector, with the first phases of the project set to kick off in 2024 and be completed within two years, the Supply Ministry said in October. The first center will be built in Ismailia, with required investments estimated at around EGP 3-4 bn. The centers developed in partnership with the French Development Agency will minimize food waste by implementing a more contained and sustainable supply chain.

Where the “green” comes from: In addition to minimizing food waste, the centers will also recycle food waste using renewable energy. All machinery and equipment used in the centers will run on renewables, according to Deputy Supply Minister Ibrahim El Ashmawy.

Our agriculture sector, by the numbers: Food exports accounted for 15% of Egypt’s overall non-oil exports during the first eight months of the year, rising 13% y-o-y to USD 3.43 bn, according to recent data from the Trade and Industry Ministry. Agricultural exports hit USD 2.67 bn during the same period, rising 20% y-o-y and accounting for around 11.7% of our non-oil exports in 8M 2023.

Fruit + veg waste is a big problem: On average, some 35-40% of produce is wasted in Egypt as a result of the disjointed packing and distribution network, which requires a large amount of transport, Vice President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s vegetables division Hatem El Naguib told Enterprise. That waste has already been reduced by some 15-20% thanks to improved road networks, which cut down on transport time and costs for farmers, El Naguib said.

Green food centers will help reduce that waste even further, with an expected 10-40% reduction in food waste, according to Ashmawy.

A key benefit of these centers: Stabilizing prices, especially with expectations of a further EGP devaluation and a potential increase in fuel prices, by restructuring the market and logistical infrastructure, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Mohamed Attia El Fayoumi said.

The private sector is getting in on the action: The project is being implemented with private sector players, which will be responsible for designing, constructing and equipping, and operating and managing these centers, Ashmawy said. The private sector is “an essential partner” for the green food centers and for creating a more developed internal trade system, Ashmawy said, stressing the importance of increasing efficiency to improve the stability of food commodity prices.

And the gov’t wants to encourage more of that: The logistics sector is a priority area for the government to attract private sector investments, with ongoing talks with a number of “major” companies in the field to develop logistics hubs, Ashmawy told Enterprise.

Don’t forget the farmers, industry players say: In addition to working on streamlining the logistical aspect of the food and agricultural sector, Naguib also stressed the importance of working in parallel on a distribution network and setting up wholesale and retail markets to help keep prices in check. However, many of these centers and markets box out some farmers due to their high costs, says Farmers’ Syndicate head Hussein Abu Saddam.

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