Al-Nouran Sugar establishes first integrated sugar factory

CAIRO - 11 December 2017: "Recently-established Al-Nouran Sugar has established Egypt's first integrated complex for manufacturing sugar from sugar beets," company Chairman Ashraf Mahmoud announced Monday.

Al-Nouran Sugar provides all stages of sugar production from cultivation to manufacturing and then trade.

"The factory's aim is to bridge the gap between the supply and demand in the Egyptian market, which can reach around one million tons annually, in addition to exporting the surplus in the future," Mahmoud said.

Mahmoud stated that the cultivation of sugar beets on large plots of land is considered a promising addition to the sugar market in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East.

The chairman has presented the work of his company at the Africa 2017 Forum, which took place from December 9 to 11 in Sharm El-Sheikh. "Al-Nouran Sugar’s business model can be an example to investors wanting to expand in their fields, and can therefore encourage them to invest more in the promising Egyptian market," Mahmoud said, commenting on his participation.

Egypt produces around 2.4 million tons of sugar annually, while annual consumption averages 3.1 million tons. The gap is filled by private and public imports.

In March, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail decided to exempt raw sugar imports from customs tariffs from January 1 to December 31 of this year.

A month later, Egypt’s Trade and Industry Ministry decided to impose a sugar export tariff worth LE 3,000 ($169.2) per ton.

In August, the Ministry of Supply's decision to reduce selling prices of sugar to consumers came as sugar stocks proved to be sufficient to meet domestic needs until January 2018.

The price of subsidized sugar was reduced from LE 10 ($0.57) to LE 9.5 per kilo as in September.