Muscat, March 9 - Flour milling capacity in the Sultanate has soared to around 3,300 metric tonnes per day, bolstered by the launch of Sohar Flour Mill in January this year — a significant uptick that bodes well for Oman’s goals to be food-secure, according to figures released by mill-owners. As many as five large flour mills are currently in operation in Suhar, Muscat and Salalah. The oldest of these is Muscat-based Oman Flour Mill, which is 51 per cent owned by the Government of Oman and boasts a flour production capacity of 800 metric tonnes per day.
Suhar is home to two large flour mills each of 500 MT per day capacity. Al Khaleej Flour Mill came into production in Sohar Industrial City in 2017. Earlier this year, Sohar Flour Mill — a subsidiary of Oman Flour Mill — commenced operations within Sohar Port and Freezone as part of an integrated food cluster. Raysut Industrial City in Salalah is home to three flour mills — the largest of which is Salalah Mills Company. With a capacity of 1,500 MT per day, it is also the biggest plant of its kind in the Sultanate. Raysut Industrial City also hosts Al Rasheed Flour
Mill, which came on stream in 2012 with an initial capacity of 200 MT per day, but has since ramped up output to reach 500 MT per day. Also in operation at the industrial cluster is Al Reef Flour Mill, which came into production in 2016 with a capacity of 300 MT per day. All five flour mills are an integral part of Oman’s ambitions to secure the essential food requirements of the local population. The flagship plants — Oman Flour Mill and Salalah Mills — are also equipped with grain silos, while the newly launched mill in Suhar will be integrated with a strategic grain reserve as well.
As with its counterpart in Muscat, Salalah Mills has expanded and diversified its business activities across the value chain. Leveraging Salalah’s proximity to markets in the Arabian Gulf and East Africa, the company also exports a sizable share of its output.
According to the miller’s Management Discussion & Analysis (MDA) report issued as part of its financial report for the year ended on December 31, 2018, exports to neighbouring Yemen soared 65.5 per cent in 2018 compared to figures for 2017. Shipments to Somalia, however, declined 27.6 per cent due to competition from Egyptian and the UAE-based flour mills. Overseas exports accounted for just over 50 per cent of Salalah Mills’ total revenue of around RO 52 million in 2018.
At the same time, Salalah Mills has continued to invest in support infrastructure and services as part of an integrated approach to flour milling in the Sultanate. The addition of new silos has boosted the company’s grain storage capacity to 161,500 MT, which is the largest in the Sultanate. A packaging plant launched in April 2017 with a capacity of 48 million bags per annum will be expanded to produce 72 million bags per annum. Besides, the company also operates a macaroni factory featuring four production lines with a combined capacity of 123,000 MT per year.
Ahmed Alawi Abdullah al Dhahab, CEO, also announced in the Directors’ report that Salalah Mills has signed an MoU with a major Ethiopian group for setting up a macaroni plant in the East African nation. A feasibility study commissioned in this regard is due to be completed this month, he said.
Muscat-based Oman Flour Mill is also expanding and diversifying its activities as it ventures into new products and market segments. Atyab Bakery LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary, saw net revenue surge to RO 19.73 million in 2018, up from RO 12.7 million a year earlier.
“Demand for our products is increasing and we are operating at almost full capacity,” said Haitham Mohammed Ali al Fannah, CEO, in the Management Discussion & Analysis report for the 18 months ended on December 31, 2018.
Modern Poultry Farms (MPF), a subsidiary 88.4 per cent owned by Oman Flour Mills, produced 18 million table eggs during the 18 months under review — a figure expected to jump by 50 per cent as newly completed capacity is brought on line. Besides, Oman Flour Mills has also announced the start of construction work on new strategic grain storage capacity in Sohar Port and Free Zone.
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