Fresh Del Monte And Talc Investment Announce Partnership In Somaliland

Economy, Development & Health Resources & Farming
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https://saxafimedia.com/fresh-del-monte-talc-partnership-somaliland/

Fresh Del Monte Produce one of the world’s leading vertically integrated producers, marketers, and distributors of high-quality fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, and Moze Holding Limited, a Talc Investment company based in Somaliland have signed a multi-year banana partnership located in the heart of the previously famed banana belt area.

This partnership will not only significantly reduce banana transport times, giving consumers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) access to fresher, lower-cost fruit, but will also aid in Somalia’s economic resurgence.

As part of the agreement, Fresh Del Monte will have operational oversight and train the team on the ground. In return, the global produce distributor will purchase its banana supply directly from Moze, the newly established banana farm. The fruit will be sold and marketed under the Fresh Del Monte brand for its markets in the Middle East, with the first harvest expected in 2024.

“We are pleased to officially announce this partnership, which we believe is a game-changer for the banana industry in the region,” said Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Fresh Del Monte’s Chairman and CEO.

“The move to reestablish banana operations in Somalia makes sense on many accounts – from its strategic location on the Horn of Africa to fulfilling our mission of supplying our consumers with the freshest produce available – all while aiding in the country’s recovery.”

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Fresh Del Monte announces banana partnership in Somalia

Hargeisa (HOL) - Fresh Del Monte Produce, a leading global producer and distributor of fruit and vegetables, announced a partnership with UAE-based Moze Holding Limited, a new banana grower established in Somaliland, to grow and export bananas for the Middle East and North Africa markets.

As part of the agreement, Fresh Del Monte will purchase the bananas directly from Moze’s newly established banana farm but will retain operational oversight.

The first harvest is expected in 2024, with fruit sold and marketed under the Fresh Del Monte brand to the Arab world.

The Middle East is currently supplied by bananas from Central America or the Philippines, with average transit times ranging from 20 to 35 days.

“We are pleased to officially announce this partnership, which we believe is a game-changer for the banana industry in the region,” said Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Fresh Del Monte’s Chairman and CEO. “The move to reestablish banana operations in Somalia makes sense on many accounts – from its strategic location on the Horn of Africa to fulfilling our mission of supplying our consumers with the freshest produce available – all while aiding the country’s recovery.”

Although no longer affiliated with the larger Del Monte Foods, Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc has a license to market its products worldwide under the Del Monte brand.

Moze Holding Limited, a banana grower wholly owned by Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Talc Investment, believes the partnership will provide consumers access to fresher, lower-cost fruit while investing in the region’s local economy.

“The Moze and Talc teams are delighted to work with a renowned name in agriculture, such as Fresh Del Monte, to revive the banana cultivation farms in Somaliland. This multi-purpose approach will serve the communities in the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and the United Arab Emirates. We intend to build on this partnership in the near future as we look forward to a fruitful relationship,” said Mohammed Aldhaheri, Moze Holding and Talc Investment Chairman.

According to Fresh Del Monte, Moze acquired a large plot of land in the previously well-known banana farming territories in the breakaway region of Somaliland.

The statement does not specify where exactly the farm is located.

Somali bananas - famed for their sweet, creamy vanilla flavour - are one of the most important staple crops in the country and have long been an essential food source and income for the Somalis. It is consumed with rice, pasta or just as a fruit.

Commercial banana production in Somalia dates back to the 1920s when Italian colonists introduced it to the fertile Shabelle and Juba river basins. The colonial government encouraged the growth of the banana industry, and as a result, commercial banana production rapidly expanded and soon became one of the largest industries in Somalia.

Banana export peaked in the 1980s, led by the brand Somalita, partly owned by Unifrutti - an Italian company owned by the De Nadai family. Exports in 1990 neared $100 million, according to agricultural experts.

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Interesting development indeed. Banana is a water intensive plant, how are they going to secure reliable water?

I hope they are not tapping into ground water. If they are building dams, this should be welcomed. If they are going to tap into ground water, this is a bad decision.

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This is an incredible win. We just lacked investments to harvest and replenish ground water.

The Gabiley damn was the most crucial infrastructural experiment Somaliland ever carried out. It proved you could have a perennial water/reservoir simply by damming a dry river bed. It will be 2 years soon and the water is still there and during a drought as well.

They need to duplicate this throughout Somaliland not just Wajaale, Gabiley and Borama. This requires major investments.

Domino effect it that started with the port
It’s not a coincidence this is an Abu Dhabi venture, the same folks who paid for the Berbera Corridor road. So this was always on the table. Somaliland badly need these sort of ventures to get local supply chains going and thus employment for the youth and a domino effect of other ventures.

There’s plenty of ground water in Somaliland.

Groundwater – found underground in aquifers, rocks and soils – makes up about 99% of all liquid freshwater on earth, and is abundant in much of Africa, but a lack of investment has left it untapped or poorly managed, two major studies have found. The reserves could be used for irrigation and to supply clean and safe water, but there is also a danger that if used unsustainably they could be rapidly depleted or polluted.

Tim Wainwright, the chief executive of WaterAid UK, the charity behind one of the reports, said: “Our findings debunk the myth that Africa is running out of water. But the tragedy is that millions of people on the continent still do not have enough clean water to drink. There are vast reserves of water right under people’s feet, many of which are replenished every year by rainfall and other surface water, but they can’t access it because services are chronically underfunded.”

WaterAid, along with the British Geological Survey, found that most African countries could survive at least five years of drought, and some more than 50 years, on their groundwater reserves. Their study, entitled Groundwater: the world’s neglected defence against climate change, found that every sub-Saharan African country could supply 130 litres a day of drinking water per capita from groundwater without using more than a quarter of what can be renewed, and most using only about 10%.

Separately, the UN’s annual World Water Development Report also concentrated on groundwater this year. It found that only 3% of farmland in sub-Saharan Africa was equipped for irrigation, and only 5% of that area used groundwater, even though groundwater is often abundant in the region.

Richard Connor, lead author and editor of the UN report for Unesco, said groundwater was not being used in Africa because of a lack of investment in equipment and infrastructure, and a shortage of institutions, trained professionals and knowledge of the resource. Developing expertise in mapping and managing groundwater resources would be essential, he said.

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I thought the Gov’t recently stopped new wells being dug in the Geed Deeble area fearing that Hargeisa’s water security will be affected.

Anyway, we need to really see the bigger picture when it comes to these sort of things. This is where studies and environmental impact reports need to be a must.

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Fair point. Hargeisa is growing at a fast pace with new industries soon expected put more strain on the water supply, which is why they are cautiously putting dams in place. Now that the water supply has reached Hargeisa via pipes there is little need to dig new wells in the area. If you look at ground water monitoring levels its been pretty steady for years in this area.

We have lost trillions of gallons of rainwater as runoff from our mountains for decades that lack of ground water should never have been an issue for such a small population had we put in the right infrastructure in the first place.

I have just noticed another water body to the right of the Gabiley dam, this one has also held water for over a year.

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This is in Saaxil I think near biyo kuluule. That little stream which runs all year from the mountains, was once probably a river that carved out that valley. Isn’t it ripe for a damn similar to the hoover dam eventually it would fill and you could harness some Hyrdopower by releasing the water.

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Unreal

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Absolutely, there are many such places around Somaliland. However, there is a huge cost involved if you want to build a dam capable of storing enough water to generate electricity.

We are talking about at least 5 - 10km of concrete wall as heigh as 50 - 100m, as wide as 20 - 30m. That is a lot of concrete.

Probably we will be at a stage to take on that type of investment after we get enough income from Oil. :smiley:

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Hence the two cement factories in the pipeline :smile:

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