CAIRO- 27 March 2022: The Ministry of Trade and Industry, and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has launched the second phase of the Egyptian Typical Food Products Contest on Friday.
The Two-day contest represented an open marketplace for entrepreneurs in the typical food sector in addition to an award ceremony took place on Saturday at the Orman Botanical Garden in Giza.
Ahmed Reda, Associate Minister of Trade and Industry and the supervisor of the Industrial Council for Technology & Innovation Centers, said that the Egyptian Typical Food Products Contest is like a cornerstone for introducing the Egyptian food heritage and preserving the historical identity of the Egyptian food. He pointed out that the contest enhances the creation of job opportunities for young people and entrepreneurs, as well as new creating new investment opportunities for food producers and distributors, which enables them to open their outlets and thus increase their products’ export opportunities. And this is what the strategy of the Ministry of Trade and Industry pursues; increasing the number of exports and reducing imports.
Reda also noted that this contest is closely related to the initiative launched under the auspices of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi under the name of (Hayah Kareema), as this contest focuses on the participation of women in remote areas, which have a special heritage distinguishing them, and this contributes to helping them establish and expand their small and micro-enterprises.
Ahmed Rizk, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said that the exhibition will be an excellent opportunity for producers and entrepreneurs in the field of typical food products to display and introduce their products to the public, open outlets for sale and increase their profits, which is an encouragement to various small projects, especially in the food sector. He also pointed out that the activities of the 1st edition of the Egyptian Typical Food Products Contest, which is held for the first time in Egypt, started on the 16 – 17 of March 2022 with the participation of 165 institutions and committees from 22 governorates, and 763 local food products.
“The first phase, which was the tasting days, included tasting and evaluating of products over two days and choosing the best of them by a committee consisting of 3 people (consumer – producer – expert) evaluating the products in terms of 3 factors; appearance, taste, and smell”, Ahmed Rizk Added.
He continued, saying that the committee included food experts and specialists, through the participation of the Faculty of Agriculture at Menoufia University under the supervision of Dr. Ayman Hafez Issa, Dean of the Faculty, which participated in the tasting & evaluating phase with agricultural experts to evaluate the food products, to choose the best of them over 2 days. As each participating product includes many details in terms of tradition, history, and the extent of the Egyptian people’s attachment to it, such as popular dishes associated with authentic Egyptian celebrations. And this is what made most companies give great attention to the event by their participation or sponsorship by international organizations, large companies, and other local partners. This comes in the belief of the great role of the development of the industry, economy, and small enterprises in Egypt.
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