Oman to build biggest table egg farm in the Gulf

Business Tuesday 20/December/2016 14:30 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman to build biggest table egg farm in the Gulf

Muscat: Oman plans to build the biggest table egg project in the Gulf region in joint venture, which will have an annual capacity to produce 2,300 million eggs.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed for the table egg project between Oman Flour Mills (OFM) Company, Gulf Japan Food Fund (GJFP), the UAE-based IFFCO group and Japan’s Ise Foods here on Tuesday.
The MoU entails the acquisition of the country’s largest egg producer, Modern Poultry Farms, and to build a state-of-the-art table egg facility in Ibri, which will use Japanese technology.
“The investment for building the table egg project in Ibri will be $40 million (which is the first phase),” Ali Habaj, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Flour Mills Company, told Times of Oman, on the side lines of the signing ceremony, which was held under the auspices of Dr Rashid bin Salim Al Masroori, chief executive officer of the Public Authority for Stores and Food Reserves. Also, plans to acquire Modern Poultry Farms are under evaluation now.
Habaj said it will take two years to complete the project in Ibrisince the land (12 square kilometres) needed for the project has already been acquired.
Presently, around 45 per cent of Oman’s requirement for eggs is met through imports.
The new joint venture is in response to high demand for protein-rich eggs in the GCC and to satisfy the local market needs. As many as 80 per cent of the production is for local market, while 20 per cent will be exported to the UAE market.
Atyab Investments will have a 33 per cent stake in the joint venture, with IFFCO, Gulf Japan Food Fund and Ise Foods holding 33 per cent, 28 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, in the table egg joint venture project.
“SGRF, through its partners, always aspires to bring the latest technologies and know-how to Oman, and this promising facility bears statement to our efforts in enriching our local economy with revenue generating projects that would ensure a sustainable future for industrial advancement in Oman,” said Abdulsalam bin Mohammed Al Murshidi, executive president of SGRF, which owns 37.5 per cent in Gulf Japan Food Fund.
“IFFCO and OFM are market leaders in the food business in the UAE and Oman, with established egg production facilities and strong distribution reach in the GCC markets and a local customer base,” added Hitoshi Sugawara, an official at GJFF.
The project will aim to reduce the GCC’s import dependence for eggs, while also enhancing the quality of locally produced eggs by using best-in-class processes and technology from Japan, noted Salah HilalMawali, chairman of OFM.
Habaj said that the new joint venture egg project will operate from two places – Barka and Ibri. However, the Barka operations (Modern Poultry Farms) will be gradually shifted to Ibri and the Barka facility will be used for logistics services.
Modern Poultry Farms has employee strength of 300 workers and with the new facility in Ibri, the total employment opportunity is expected to increase to 500 workers.