Leading Qatari food investor Hassad Food Company has acquired a 22.5% stake in the world’s largest organic grain and oilseed company, Sunshine Foods International, reports Global AgInvesting.
The subsidary of Qatar Investment Authority also announced the signing of a strategic agreement with Tiryaki Agro – owner of Canadian-based Sunshine Foods – to provide various food grains to meet local demand and strengthen Qatar’s food security, Global AgInvesting wrote on 1 July.
In 2012, as much as 90% of Qatar’s food was sourced through imports and the country’s food consumption was expected to hit 2.2M tonnes this year.
The Middle-East and North African (MENA) region was expected to see a food deficit of between 50M tonnes and 90M tonnes by 2020, said Global AgInvesting.
“We are delighted to enter into a long-term strategic partnership with Sunrise Foods,” said Mohamed Al-Sadah, chief executive officer of Hassad.
The investment aligned with Hassad’s strategy to expand its reach and followed its plan to invest more in Turkey and other regions.
In June 2018, Hassad also announced to that it would invest US$500M in Sudan’s agriculture and food sectors within the next three years.
Sunrise Foods sources high quality grains, including 16 different cereal grains for milling, as well as 16 for livestock, six varieties of oilseeds including soyabeans, and 11 varieties of pulses such as lentils, Global AgInvesting wrote.
The company shipped 500,000 tonnes of agri-food products nationally and internationally by rail, truck, vessel, barge and container and its products were audited and assured along the entire supply chain.
