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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Oman Food unveils new projects worth RO 100m

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Conrad Prabhu -
Muscat, JAN 23 -
The Oman Food Investment Holding Company (OFIC), the food sector investment arm of the Omani government, plans to roll out six new ventures this year aimed at further strengthening the Sultanate’s strategic food security goals.
According to Eng Saleh bin Mohammed al Shanfari (pictured), CEO of OFIC, the new projects will see investments in, among other areas, fish canning, agricultural logistics and marketing, food logistics, and for the first time, veterinary vaccine production as well. Total investments in the new projects, due to make headway this year, are in the order of RO 100 million.
Significantly, the new ventures build on a sizable portfolio of projects being spearheaded by OFIC encompassing investments in large-scale dairy and milk processing, poultry farming and white meat processing, red meat production, cow and camel milk collection and processing, and dates marketing. These projects, attracting capital investments of around RO 300 million, are in various stages of implementation and will make a robust contribution to the government’s ambitions to achieve greater levels of self-sufficient in domestic food production.
Speaking at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Investment Forum, which opened at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre here yesterday, Al Shanfari said a total of six new food sector related schemes are envisioned for implementation in 2019.
These ventures will further expand and deepen the value chain critical to achieving the Sultanate’s food security objectives.
Notable is a major fish canning project envisaged in the Fisheries Industrial Hub due to be established as part of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Duqm. Also on the table is an ambitious agricultural produce marketing venture that will include refrigeration, storage and logistics components designed to boost Oman’s agro output, as well as bolster earnings for Omani farmers through local sales and overseas exports.
Likewise, OFIC sees the potential to put in place the initial elements of a food logistics system underpinned by a major food hub proposed to be located in Muscat Governorate. The project is currently the subject of a technical and economic feasibility study.
“The Food hub is a virtual concept that will allow all of us to work together to eventually develop the entire country as a hub for food production,” said the CEO.
Perhaps, the most striking of the new investments pertains to a first-of-its-kind veterinary vaccines production plant that will seek to end the Sultanate’s long-standing dependence on imports for animal and livestock vaccines.
“This project will complement Oman’s livestock farming industry,” said Al Shanfari. “Without vaccination and other preventative measures, you cannot ensure the biosecurity of this sector,” he told the Observer, adding that the plant’s vaccine output will also be marketed regionally.



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