Abu Dhabi-based food and beverages group Agthia has marked its first international expansion with the inauguration of Al Ain Food and Beverages in Egypt.

This is the fourth entity to Agthia's growing group of companies, after the opening of Al Ain Mineral Water Company, Al Ain Vegetables and Grand Mills for Flour and Feed.

“The Agthia Group is proud to have set up its new entity in Egypt,” said Maged Salem Al Romaithi, vice chairman, Agthia Group. “We would like to thank the Egyptian government for extending its support and encouraging our presence here.”

“Without their co-operation, it would not have been possible to fulfill what we see here today. This is the first international expansion for the group and indeed marks a milestone in Agthia’s growth story,” he added.

Iilas Assimakopoulos, CEO, Agthia Group said: “We have set up this modern facility with state-of-the art machinery to almost triple our existing capacity of processing fresh tomato into tomato concentrate.

“This is not only a sourcing point for our UAE business but also an opportunity for export to the international market. This move is intended to capitalize on the fast growing tomato paste and frozen vegetable categories, both in the UAE and the international markets and further tap into synergistic and profitable related products and segments.”

The new state of the art Al Ain Food & Beverages will employ 110 people and process 1000 tonnes of fresh tomatoes per day. This in turn will provide an accelerator to the processing capacity for Al Ain Vegetables that itself processes 600 tonnes of fresh tomatoes per day from its facility in Al Ain (UAE).

The brand new facility houses production lines for: tomato concentrate, fruit concentrate, fruit puree, French fries, frozen vegetables, and will source tomatoes from local farms in and around Saadat city.

The fruit puree and concentrate line will produce close to 4 tons per hour and up to 90 tons per day and it will source all raw materials from local farms. The lines for frozen vegetable and French fries, will use the individual quick freeze (IQF) technology, and will be targeted to fulfill needs of Al Ain Vegetables in the UAE. The company is set to export to the GCC, European Union, and African Countries.

The company has been set up with a 95 per cent share ownership by the Agthia Group and a five per cent share ownership by its own entity-Al Ain Vegetable Processing and Canning Factory. – TradeArabia News Service