Blumberg Grain, a leading US-based food security company, said it has joined hands with the Egyptian government to implement the Middle East and North Africa’s largest integrated food security network for grain storage.

An initiative supported by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s Viva Egypt Fund, the shouna development project will see the modernisation of 105 Shouna in the first phase.

The integrated crop and food storage systems developed by Blumberg Grain and the Ministry of Defense’s Engineering Authority will reduce post-harvest losses in Egypt, currently in excess of 40 per cent of production, down to less than five per cent.

The first 105 systems are estimated to save Egypt $200 million annually, said the company in a statement.

The shouna development project brings to Egypt the latest food security technology that will allow for screening, drying, cleaning, grading, and bagging of wheat, it stated.

This will enable processing capacity of 3.7 million tonnes of wheat per year, and create 750,000 tonnes of new static storage capacity, in turn revolutionising the local wheat harvest value chain in Egypt. A second phase of the project would see an additional 207 shounas modernised, bringing the total up to 300 sites, it added.

The integrated crop and food storage systems developed by Blumberg Grain and the Ministry of Defence’s Engineering Authority will reduce post-harvest losses in Egypt, currently in excess of 40 per cent of production, down to less than five per cent, stated David Blumberg, the chief executive (Middle East and Africa) after unveiling the first site of the Shouna Development Project in the presence of Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Dr Khaled Hanafy.

The first 105 systems are estimated to save Egypt $200 million annually, he added.

Dr Hanafy said: "This is a great achievement for the Egyptians, we are now moving towards a future with improved infrastructure which supports Sisi’s vision to build a sustainable economy, which is open, inclusive, and transparent. Blumberg Grain has delivered a system that will transform our nation’s grain infrastructure and we look forward to the system being fully complete and integrated."

Blumberg said the company is helping advance the Egyptian Economic Development Strategy Towards 2030, which seeks to improve infrastructure, build a modern and democratic society and create jobs.

“We are pleased to see the completion of the first three Blumberg Grain Aggregation Centers, which will serve as training facilities for the managers at all sites. Along with our training, our state-of-the-art technology will help modernise Egyptian agriculture. Egypt, with the assistance of Blumberg Grain, is taking a positive step in the right direction in eliminating post-harvest losses and creating a model for food security," he added.

Myron Brilliant, the executive vice-president and head of international affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, said the organisation was working to deepen and expand American investment and trade with Egypt.

"Having Blumberg Grain leading this effort by implementing their integrated systems for grain storage will help Egypt achieve its objectives in food security," he noted.  

Additionally, Blumberg Grain will provide a command centre in Cairo to centralise monitoring of security, environmental controls, and inventory management. Problems can be identified and addressed remotely to ensure the harvest is protected at all times, he added.-TradeArabia News Service