Rijk Zwaan Egypt is participating in the Food Africa exhibition for the first time as an exhibitor, a "significant milestone for us to participate in this important event," says El-Hussein Mousa, client manager at the company.
© Rijk Zwaan
Mousa states, "Rijk Zwaan Egypt's first participation at Food Africa was very successful, exceeding expectations with strong visitor interest and positive feedback on our export and processing varieties. Our objectives included presenting our varieties, connecting with value chain partners, highlighting our approach based on customer care, and strengthening internal collaboration between our teams in Egypt, Jordan, the Netherlands, Germany, and Russia to support customers across different markets. The initial success and the feedback we received at our stand confirmed that we are providing effective solutions for our partners.
© Rijk Zwaan
According to Mousa, the company has a strong presence in Egypt and has built up a large network of partners who work to obtain crops that meet market needs. He explains, "We are a 40-person team in Egypt that supports local producers, processors, traders, exporters, and retailers with crop and technical specialists and client managers. In terms of products, we offer a large portfolio of varieties of broccoli, cauliflower, sweet pepper, melon, watermelon, lettuces, cabbage, eggplant, cucumbers, and tomatoes for fresh and fast-growing industry markets. For instance, the frozen broccoli market has really boomed over the last 5 years, and we are now the market leader with the beoccoli variety Larsson, very nice curd, green colour, and good shelf life."
"We furthermore assist Egyptian growers in exporting to the European market, particularly for sweet pepper, iceberg lettuce, carrots, melon, and watermelon, by connecting them with retailers and helping them ensure quality compliance," Mousa adds.
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In addition to its subsidiary in Egypt, Rijk Zwaan's infrastructure includes an important component, according to Mousa: "Our trial station is a real platform for knowledge exchange. It is the place where we regularly host growers, exporters, retailers, and partners to see the varieties firsthand and discuss market needs. Our Rijk Zwaan Egypt Trial Station is designed to evaluate and select the best-performing varieties under real Egyptian growing conditions. It allows us to test a wide portfolio across different seasons, climate zones, and cultivation systems. This ensures that the varieties we introduce, whether for the local market, export, or processing, are truly adapted to the needs of Egyptian growers and the wider value chain.
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At the station, we conduct Variety performance trials for open field and protected cultivation, Export-focused evaluations to ensure long shelf life, firmness, and post-harvest quality, Processing suitability tests, including color, yield, and uniformity, and continuous collaboration with growers, chain partners, and international Rijk Zwaan teams to bring the best genetics to the market," Mousa continues.
"Overall, our infrastructure in Egypt reflects our long-term commitment to supporting the entire value chain and ensuring that together we grow what the customer loves," he concludes.
For more information:
El-Hussein Mousa
Rijk Zwaan Egypt
Tel: +201011201366
Email: [email protected]
www.rijkzwaan.com.eg
