“Egyptian Swiss for Milling and Pasta” Participates in BRICS Meetings 2024

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By Mahmood ElAraby from Gaet Economic

The Egyptian Swiss Group for Milling, Pasta, and Concentrates participated in the BRICS 2024 meetings during the “Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development” conference, following an invitation from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. The group was the only Egyptian industrial company present.

The conference was held in Moscow, Russia, from June 27-28, ahead of the 14th meeting of BRICS Agriculture Ministers, which was attended by the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture on Friday.

The conference was attended by Hani Lawandy, Chairman of the Egyptian Swiss Group for Milling, Pasta, and Concentrates, and Ahmed Al-Sebaey, General Manager of the group. The Egyptian Swiss Group was the only Egyptian industrial company participating in the conference, along with another agricultural company as part of an Egyptian delegation that included the Food Industries Chamber of the Federation of Egyptian Industries and the Chairman of the General Authority for Supply Commodities.

The Egyptian delegation also attended the meetings held on the sidelines of the conference and the 14th meeting of BRICS Agriculture Ministers, in which Egypt participated this year following its official joining of the BRICS countries.

Hani Lawandy, Chairman of the Egyptian Swiss Group, stated that Russia is the largest wheat exporter to Egypt. He emphasized that Egypt’s accession to the BRICS group would facilitate the flow of goods between member countries and secure the strategic needs of these nations.

Lawandi highlighted the significant opportunity for Egypt to benefit from mutual cooperation, providing greater export opportunities to the ten BRICS countries, and securing essential raw materials, especially wheat. This could be further enhanced if an accounting system is agreed upon that allows trade exchanges between these countries in local currencies, bypassing the US dollar.

He pointed out the potential benefits of international cooperation and the exchange of expertise among BRICS member countries to enhance food security and sustainable development.

Engineer Ahmed Al-Sebaey, General Manager of the Egyptian Swiss Group, stated that the invitation to attend the conference and BRICS 2024 meetings came from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture as part of its presidency of BRICS 2024. Russia also intends to organize the BRICS 2024 summit next October.

Al-Sebaey pointed out that one of the key outcomes of these meetings was the consensus among member states on establishing a grain exchange for commodity trading among BRICS member countries.

He explained that the exchange would allow buyers to purchase directly from producers, and this proposal received support from Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the BRICS summit scheduled to be held in Russia next October.

He added, “The BRICS group, with its 10 countries, holds more than 30% of the world’s agricultural land, about 40% of the global production of grains and meat, about 40% of dairy products, and more than 50% of the total production of fish and seafood, which contributes to enhancing food security among BRICS member countries.”

During his speech at the 14th BRICS meeting, Minister of Agriculture El-Sayed El-Quseir confirmed Egypt’s support for the Russian initiative to establish a grain trading alliance.

El-Quseir highlighted the enormous economic capabilities of the BRICS countries across all axes, including land area, population, GDP, and agricultural productivity, as well as the demand for food commodities, especially grains. He also emphasized the diverse comparative advantages among all BRICS countries.

Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, during her joint meeting with El-Quseir on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting, emphasized her commitment to enhancing the flow of agricultural goods from Russia, particularly wheat, to Egypt without any hindrance. She added that there could be support for a mechanism to settle financial transactions.

The Russian Minister of Agriculture also expressed hope for increasing trade exchange rates between Egypt and Russia, which exceeded $3 billion in 2023, and for further mutual cooperation.