Japan explores investment opportunities in Egypt’s agribusiness

CAIRO – 11 November 2017: A Japanese trade delegation visited Egypt recently to study the country’s investment opportunities in agriculture and fish farms, as Cairo was chosen to be a regional center for Japanese trade in Africa. It came in light of deep and historical partnerships between the two countries and Egypt’s importance as a trading center in the region.

In cooperation with the Japanese embassy in Cairo, a delegation from Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting and Promar Consulting – international consulting firms based in Tokyo and specialized in agribusiness – held meetings with key government policy makers, producers, traders and related institutions to explore the current situation in agribusiness.

The delegation mainly aimed to understand the food market in Egypt and identify the sectors where Japanese companies should expand their businesses or investments. It also wanted to study the possibility of establishing partnerships between the food sector in Japan and other relevant sectors in Egypt, such as health care, nursing, hospital food and school meals.

The Japanese companies held meetings with a number of business organizations, including the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA), to explore investment opportunities in the agricultural sector in Egypt and the state plans to offer attractive opportunities in the sector, said Mohamed Youssef, chairperson of the EBA.

He added that the delegation was keen to know all the details of the agriculture sector, such as the methods of irrigation, the water source and the state plans to reclaim new land in the new areas.

Youssef further added that the EBA briefed the delegation of Japanese companies on the state's plans of economic reform and its positive impact on the investment environment. The EBA also highlighted the government’s efforts to attract more foreign investments through a package of legislation to improve the business and investment environment.

Since 2016, Egypt has been carrying out a broad economic reform program under a $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan program, including the flotation of the pound currency and cutting many of its state subsidies.