The packaging industry in Egypt has benefited from a good agricultural season and increased exports, said Mohamed Ali, co-founder of the packaging manufacturer FreshDeal: "In terms of quantity, there is a clear increase in demand, and we are also witnessing a focus from fresh producers towards innovation and improved quality".
According to Ali, the new demand trends are mainly oriented to biodegradable packaging. "Exporters are increasingly moving toward environmentally friendly solutions, to adapt to export and environmental standards, but also because competitiveness is largely based on the quality of the packaging, which has become as important as the quality of the product itself."
Said Zaidan, co-founder of the company, said, "Our activity in the production of agricultural packaging dates back to 2020. The last two years have been enough for significant growth in our business. We started with biodegradable baskets for grapes and strawberries as an alternative to plastic packaging."
He adds, "These two products were very well welcomed by the market, which encouraged us to offer other similar solutions, such as cherry tomato boxes for the local market, and strawberry boxes for export, and we are currently preparing to launch a new type of food-grade biodegradable plastic packaging, in collaboration with an Egyptian plastic manufacturer."
Regarding the products most in demand this season, Ali said, "We have seen strong demand for strawberry packaging, and we expect a high demand for our paper bags and boxes for the grapes industry."
Egyptian fresh exporters pointed to the increase in packaging costs, which was acute in 2022 and early 2023, due to global inflation and the devaluation of the Egyptian pound. Said explains, "Unfortunately, the increase in our prices was inevitable since a large part of our raw materials is imported. Prices have stabilized now, but this is temporary and we expect further increases in the near future."
He adds: "In order to be less exposed to currency fluctuations and inflation abroad, we have plans to shift cost centers to the local economy, by building a paper and adhesive paper manufacturing plant soon. We are currently in discussions with foreign investors in this regard."
In terms of markets, the manufacturer says: "After two years of experience in the local market, we are ready to move towards export, and we are mainly targeting the Arab and African markets. We have reached an advanced stage of negotiation with potential customers in Kenya and Tanzania.
For more information:
Mohamed Ali & Said Zaidan
FreshDeal
Tel: +201226999507
Email: Info@freshdeal-eg.com
www.freshdeal-eg.com