Интервью с г-ном Йехиа Эль Азаб, генеральным директором, Astrachem
FOR Manufacturing Global Magazine
Mr. Yehia Elazab
Astrachem is a well-established company most
notable for its specialist work in the agriculture
and chemical sectors, and is now set to enjoy
more growth across the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) regions.
The firm, known as Astrachem but formally
Astra Industrial Complex, is part of the AIG
conglomerate and was founded back in 1988. It
provides tailor-made turnkey solutions to farmers
in over 25 countries in MENA, in the form of
fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and plastic.
Due to the success in branching out to a wider
customer base, the company has been making
major investments in new warehousing and
manufacturing facilities in Morocco and Egypt,
which will complement existing units in Dammam,
Saudi Arabia and also in Turkey through its
Subsidiary, AstraNova.
Yehia El Azab, CEO of Astrachem, said: “We have
a far reaching presence, mainly in MENA region
but even in places such as Uzbekistan, Ukraine
and remote parts of Africa. We plan to keep
investing in the agriculture sector, potentially
expanding into the larger US and European
markets, so that is the direction we are going”.
“Due to the water scarcity, there has been a drop
in the development of agricultural sector in Saudi
Arabia. Over the past 12 years, cereal production
in Saudi Arabia has almost dropped to zero. The
export of open field agriculture has been banned
and farmers can no longer export open field fruits
and vegetables”. He added.
But the direct result of this is that more attention
is being paid to high-tech agriculture, where
farms in greenhouses are possible.
“So, in the next five years a lot of projects are
coming up for greenhouses and indoor farming.
The farmers can export these products as well.
Other than that, we have faced some difficulties
because of a 40 percent drop in the size of arable
land. There was a complete stop in this area in
2008 until2012. Now we are over it and are
geared to start with high-tech farming”.
Agricultural Player
There was a time when Saudi Arabia was
exporting cereals and wheat to other countries,
but today it focuses its strengths on few main
crops due to various regulations that control
production in the Arab country. It is now pursuing
large investments in countries like Sudan, Egypt
and Ukraine where projects involve the farming
of alfalfa and wheat, which uses up most of the
water in the soil. In addition to supplying raw
material for agriculture, it is very cost-effective
to produce in Saudi Arabia and El Azab believes
Astrachem can be very competitive in this field.
Other factors such as Saudization have to be
considered going forward, but other than that
can easily produce in Saudi Arabia and export to
neighboring Asian countries as well as the MENA
regions.
El Azab said: “Our main ports are Dammam and
Jeddah are getting faster and more efficient every
year. It has become convenient for us to serve the
neighboring countries with low freight costs and
in countries where we can use the raw materials
produced in Saudi Arabia. Saudi still has an edge
over other countries. We can utilize this advantage
to export more in the coming five years”.
“We find solutions for the farming needs or
requirements that are characteristics to each
country; be it climate, soil conditions or traditional
farming conditions. We also make use of our
synergies between our facilities in Turkey and
Saudi, which have always been our two main
markets. Pesticides are produced in both countries
and we have spent five years in production at our
AstraNova facilities in Turkey, which have seen
renewed investment”.
Future Plans
In terms of growth markets, Astrachem’s management see many countries in Asia as key focus areas
for the future. Two years ago, the company started
exporting to Vietnam and Taiwan, and will be concentrating on further emerging markets like Pakistan
going forward. For El Azab, it makes logistical sense
to export to these countries as his organization
attempts to muscle between Europe and China
and compete for business by offering high quality
products at reasonable prices. All of firm’s 400-plus
products are either aligned with a multinational logo
or a multinational company, and allows Astrachem
to produce its products under a brand name. Consequently, The Astrachem brand image is spreading
across multiple countries.
“We are looking forward to going upstream into
further production in various fields, which will serve
our customers faster and cost-effectively . We believe we can share a part of China’s export market,
and strategically we see some future in this area”.
Said El Azab.
Yehia El Azab concluded: “Every year, we are growing at a rate of double digit figures and we are one
of few that produce such a wide range of products
under one umbrella, so we are confident for the
future as farmers know they can rely on us to meet
their high expectations”.