The Syrian Maddox International: The future of food industries in Egypt is promising, the government supports investors

Great opportunities for Egyptian machines in the markets of the continent, exhibitions are an essential means of communicating with customers

Abu Haddou: We aim to open new markets in eastern and southern Africa to benefit from trade agreements

The company manufactures snacks, chips, and crackers of all kinds

Mozambique, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia are the most important export markets for the company, and we seek to expand

"From Damascus.. here is Cairo." This sentence expresses the extent of the historical interdependence between Egypt and Syria over the ages. This phrase dates back to 1956 when the tripartite aggression repressed Egyptian radio. The Egyptian radio moved suddenly to Damascus, within the framework of Arab nationalism.

The relations between the people, the Egyptians and the Syrians are extended and continuous. Thus, Youssef Abu Haddou, the Syrian businessman, partner and founder of the Syrian company Maddox International, spoke about his investment experience in Egypt.

Maddox International, the Syrian company, owns a factory in the Industrial Zone in the 10th of Ramadan City, to produce integrated production lines with the latest international technology, for the production of crackers, snacks, chips, and all kinds of snacks.

Maddox International has been operating in the Egyptian market for five years under the brand, but the company's factory has been operating under another commercial name for 17 years, as the company specializes in the production of equipment for snacks, appetizers, and others.

He stressed that the food industry sector in Egypt is promising, which increases sales of related sectors such as machines, production lines and packaging, adding that the Egyptian government provides all means of support to Arab and foreign investors to encourage them to expand and increase their production capabilities.

He said that the Syrian investor does not feel alienated in Egypt and receives the same treatment as the Egyptian investor.

He explained that the company received a lot of serious requests from customers to work with Maddox International, but it takes some time in negotiations about prices, payment methods and other commercial matters.

Abu Haddou revealed that the company succeeded in gaining new customers from Pakistan and some African countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The company is already exporting to some other African countries, such as Sudan and Mozambique, in addition to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and some European Union countries. The company seeks to expand and increase the volume of its business, whether by opening new markets or gaining new customers in the same markets.

He added that the Syrian international company, Maddox, is a Syrian investment in the Egyptian market, which is based in Cairo to conquer African markets and increase its customer base in the continent.

He pointed out that the company plans to expand during the coming period as an attempt to avoid the negative effects and stagnation in the local market, by exporting to nearby markets in the African continent, such as Libya, the North African region and the countries of eastern and southern Africa.

For his part, Bashar Abu Nasser, partner and founder of Maddox, said that the African market is promising and the company gives it special attention, and therefore the company intends to participate in one of the exhibitions held in Sudan, Uganda or Ghana to try to get closer to those markets and know their needs and meet them during the coming period.

He pointed out that the company participated for the first time in the last edition of the Gulfood exhibition for food processing. The exhibition witnessed a good turnout of visitors and attracted companies from Saudi Arabia, Oman and other Arab countries.

Abu Nasser estimated the investment cost of starting a project in the field of producing snacks, chips or crackers, of various kinds, at about $40,000, so that it would be economically feasible and profitable for the project owner.

On the impact of the rise of cots of raw materials on the local market, Abu Nasser said that the prices of production raw materials are constantly rising at the global and local levels, and a decline in the global market needs some time to appear in the local market, which affected the price of the final product, and thus competitiveness.

He explained that the company relies on importing main raw materials such as stainless steel from Holland, China and Germany, where the cost has increased by 100%, in addition to the increase in international freight rates, which led to an increase in production costs as well.

He explained that, for example, the price of a kilogram of iron has risen from EGP 10.5 to EGP 22 and is expected to increase in the coming period, and a kilogram of stainless steel has risen from EGP 42 to EGP 85.