The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Youcef Cherfa indicated, Wednesday in Algiers, that the first phase of production of the project of the Qatari company “Baladna”, for the production of powdered milk in the south of the country, particularly in the wilaya of Adrar, would begin in 2026.
“Production will be carried out in 4 phases, the first will begin by 2026 and the last will take place 9 years after the launch of the project”, specified Mr. Cherfa, during a press conference he hosted with the delegate member of the Qatari company, Ramez Al Khayyat, on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the framework agreement between his ministerial department and the Qatari company for the realization of this project.
The Algerian State, represented by the National Investment Fund (FNI) and Baladna signed a framework agreement relating to the implementation of a structuring project consisting of the creation of integrated dairy cow breeding farms and the production of powdered milk. The value of the project is $3.5 billion.
To this end, the minister indicated that the signing which took place on Wednesday will be followed by the signing of several other agreements as part of the realization of this project. These essentially concern the partnership statutes, the Shareholders’ Agreement, and the milk acquisition agreement, in addition to that relating to the concession to make 117,000 ha available to the joint venture, according to the explanations provided by Mr. Cherfa.
A historic Qatari-Algerian partnership in the agricultural and industrial fields establishes the sincerity and depth of fraternal relations between the two countries. pic.twitter.com/NZJmIZchx5
Cover 50% of the national demand for subsidized milk
To support the project and facilitate all procedures for the start of work this year, a joint commission made up of “Baladna”, administrators, technicians, and local officials and a visit will be made on Thursday to the areas where the project will be carried out.
As for the financing, Mr. Cherfa recalled that it will be joint, with 51% of the share of the joint venture which will be created, and 49% of credits from Algerian banks. The joint venture that will manage the project will be 49% owned by the National Investment Fund (NIF) and 51% by the Qatari side.
The “Baladna” project will not affect other milk producers, because the products of the new company will cover 50% of the national demand for subsidized milk,” the minister said, recalling that national milk consumption is estimated at 5 billion liters/per year. The first objective of the project is to meet national needs, he added, noting that surplus production could be oriented towards export.
“the largest integrated milk powder production project in the world”
Mr. Al Khayyat, for his part, underlined that the signing of the agreement came after 20 months of studies, discussions, and planning, affirming that the company “Baladna Al Djazair” was “the largest agricultural project and integrated milk powder production company in the world.
The project will, according to Mr. Al Khayyat, produce nearly 194,000 tonnes of powdered milk per year. In the first phase, a farm will be developed to meet fodder needs, another with a capacity of 50,000 head of cattle will be designed and modern milk powder production lines installed. By the ninth year of the project, the total number of cattle is expected to reach 270,000, with a production of around 1.7 billion liters of milk per year.
The official indicated that the company would invest in “the creation of complexes in different regions of the country, each including a farm where fodder products will be grown, a cattle breeding farm and a milk powder factory”, stressing that the company will rely on modern farms to provide feed, corn, and wheat, as well as an advanced cattle health management system.
Project works will be launched in October 2024
Regarding the date for the launch of work on the project, Mr. Al Khayyat revealed that it was scheduled for October 2024, specifying that the studies will be finalized within two or three months.
After affirming that the company will also work with local breeders to exploit the milk they produce, the same manager indicated that the company “Baladena” has achieved a high rate of productivity in Qatar which amounts to 40 liters/day per cow.
He explained that the project would be launched by the production of powdered milk initially, before launching the production of 250 other products, including infant milk powder.
