20 facilities for the processing of tropical fruit and vegetables will be built in Sudan over the next few years. There is enormous potential thanks to the Marawi dam, which created an artificial basin 9 km wide and 170 km long (the investment is Chinese).
There will be over 2 million hectares of potentially irrigable land when secondary and tertiary distribution works have been completed.
Renzo Piraccini, President of Cesena Fiera, visited entrepreneurs both in the capital and in the northern territories. Around 40 of them will attend the 2017 edition of Macfrut in Rimini.
Piraccini and Cecilia Marzocchi met the managers of Zadna, representatives from the local Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce and around 40 operators and private investors.
"It is a country that is slightly more difficult than others we visited in Africa, as it is a little more isolated. The Ministry of Agriculture and entrepreneurs, however, have anyway showed a lot of interest."
"Sudan produces mostly tropical fruit, such as dates and mangoes as well as vegetables. Mechanisation is still limited and, at Macfrut, they will be looking for companies to meet their technological needs."
Sudan already imports apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, kiwis and frozen food from Italy. The Italian ambassador in Sudan, Fabrizio Lobasso, stressed his availability to facilitate the arrival at Macfruit of the largest number of operators possible. Simona Autuori, Director of Ice for Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda, reported her availability to assist with visas.