CAIRO: Egypt’s leading dairy and Juice manufacturer Juhayna signed a strategic partnership agreement with Denmark’s Arla Foods, to form a joint venture, according to a Wednesday statement.
Ministers of Industry and Trade, Investment
, and International Cooperation, along with a number of government officials, and key executives from both Arla and Juhayna attended the signing ceremony held in Cairo late Tuesday.
The new venture will operate under the name of “ArJu for Food Industries,” and it is scheduled to launch its selling activities in October, 2015.
“Signing such an agreement with one of the most prominent dairy companies in Europe indicates the confidence in Egyptian companies and reflects the industry’s capability to abide to the international production measures and standards,” Juhayna’s CEO, SafwanThabet said in a statement.
Juhayna owns 51 percent in the new venture, and Arla Foods owns the remaining 49 percent. “ArJu” is expected to create around 100 direct jobs.
The new venture aims at improving the domestic distribution and production capacity of cheese, butter, infant milk and other high-quality products, the statement read.
Arju targets 100 million euros in revenues by 2020.
Speaking at the conference, Minister of Trade, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said: “Egypt is one of the main consumer markets in the Middle East and Africa, reaching around 1.5 billion consumers through its trade agreements with various countries, a significant competitive advantage for any product.”
InvestmentMinister, Ashraf Salman said “he joint venture ascertains the importance of the Egyptian market as one of the most promising markets, and a message for the world that Egypt is still a major destination for foreign investments.”
For his part, Arla’s CEO, PederTuborgh, said “This partnership is expected to be a core factor in raising Arla’s customer base in Egypt and beyond.”
He added that Egypt’s market is characterized by a wide consumption capacity in need for a comprehensive strategy to address its requirements. “We are determined to fulfill that purpose through our partnership with Juhayna.”