Egypt Daily News – The Egypt Future Authority for Sustainable Development plans to build a 500 million dollar factory to produce infant formula, aiming to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imports, which currently cost around 1 billion dollars annually.
The factory is expected to begin operations in early 2027 and will be developed in partnership with the private sector, which will manage and operate the facility. According to Khaled Salah, spokesperson for the authority, investment proposals have been received from Egyptian and Emirati companies, but no final decision has been made yet.
The authority was established in 2022 by presidential decree and operates under the supervision of the Egyptian Air Force, although the decree was not published in the official gazette at the time.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi recently called for the creation of a national infant formula factory, describing the current volume of imports as “unacceptable.”
According to official data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt’s imports of dairy and dairy products rose by 13.1 percent to 807 million dollars in 2024. Imports of concentrated infant formula increased by 9.4 percent to reach 225 million dollars.
Meeting local demand
Salah explained that in its first phase, the factory aims to cover 50 percent of the local market demand, which stands at about 40 to 45 million packages annually. The goal is to eventually meet 100 percent of national needs.
The project will require importing around 40,000 high-yield dairy cows from countries like the Netherlands, Germany, and Brazil, to produce around one million liters of milk per year. It will also involve cultivating 50,000 feddans of alfalfa and creating the proper climate conditions for the cows.
This move follows failed negotiations between the Egyptian government and an Australian company to build what would have been the largest infant formula plant in the Middle East. A feasibility study showed the project lacked added value, as it would have relied mainly on importing raw materials for local packaging.
A promising market
Currently, Egypt has only one infant formula factory, run by Lacto Misr in partnership with the Armed Forces. However, all of its production is exported to North Africa, according to Mohie Hafez, chairman of the Export Council for Medical Industries.
Mohamed Anwar, head of the Egyptian Association of Nutritional Supplements Exporters, said that the rising birth rate makes it logical to establish more infant formula factories in Egypt. While he did not give specific figures, he stressed the importance of first meeting local needs before looking to export.
Anwar also pointed out key incentives needed to attract investors, including tax exemptions, easier government procedures, access to low-interest financing, and the availability of land and infrastructure for such projects.
