Kekkilä-BVB plans growing-media factory in Egypt’s SCZONE
European agricultural growing-media maker Kekkilä-BVB plans to establish a factory in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) to produce growing media for precision farming in partnership with Egyptian agritech company AgriVentures, Egypt’s industry ministry said on Tuesday.
The planned facility will produce growing media for precision agriculture, including crops such as blueberries and mushrooms, as well as certain export-oriented crops, the ministry said in a statement following a meeting between Industry Minister Khaled Hashem and Kekkilä-BVB CEO Pekka Tennilä.
The products could also be used in conventional farming and land-reclamation projects to improve desert soils, protect crops from soil-borne diseases, and support more sustainable agriculture, the ministry said.
The project could help reduce Egypt’s reliance on imported growing media and support exports to European, African, and Arab markets, it added.
Growing media account for about 30 per cent of the cost of precision agriculture, according to the ministry.
Hashem said localising the industry was a priority for supporting modern and protected agriculture and increasing value added in agricultural manufacturing.
The ministry is also seeking to expand domestic production of containers and equipment for hydroponic farming as demand grows for agricultural systems that use less water, Hashem said.
Kekkilä, which exports its products to global markets, sees Egypt as a potential gateway to African and Arab markets, Tennilä said.
The company specialises in technological solutions for conventional and precision farming aimed at improving water efficiency, the ministry said.
The ministry also said AgriVentures could participate in its Productive Village Initiative, which seeks to develop small-scale industrial activities based on the economic strengths of individual villages, particularly those producing medicinal and aromatic plants and export crops.
AgriVentures specialises in high-value agricultural production, including blueberries, using precision and soilless farming technologies. It exports to markets including Britain, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the ministry said.