The Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Vitaliy Koval, met with Walid Gamalaldin, the head of the state administration of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), during his visit to Egypt, as reported by the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
The ministry noted that Minister Koval, along with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Egypt, Mykola Nahornyi, on behalf of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, explored the possibility of establishing a food hub in Egypt. They inspected the port infrastructure and locations where Ukrainian businesses could set up their facilities, such as elevators, logistics centers, and warehouses.
"SCZone is Egypt's key economic zone, providing favorable conditions for investors and industrial development. The goal of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy is for Ukrainian agrarians not only to export raw materials but also to utilize special economic zones for processing. Ukrainian products should enter African markets with added value. This will enable access to the Egyptian domestic market and allow for the export of finished products—flour, pasta, and other food items—to countries with which Egypt has a free trade zone," Koval emphasized.
He highlighted that SCZone facilitates the creation of production sites and industrial zones with tax and customs benefits, simplifies registration and customs procedures, and provides access to a vast market of over 1.3 billion consumers in Africa and the Arab world.
"Ukraine is a strategic player in global food security, and cooperation with SCZone opens new opportunities for our agrarians and exporters. We are working to ensure that Ukrainian products become even more accessible in African markets!" the minister concluded.