Keratsini – Greece
May 21st, 2013
An agreement has been signed today between Loulis Mills SA and Al Dahra Agriculture Spain SL, whereby Al Dahra has acquired 10% of the share capital in Loulis Mills, pursuant to which it will acquire an additional share, so that its total participation after the share capital increase will amount to 20%.
Al Dahra Agriculture Spain SL is a 100 % subsidiary of Al Dahra Holding LLC, which is based in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirate. The company is active in the agricultural sector and specialises in the production of agricultural products and animal feed. It has made investments in the UAE, USA, Spain, Serbia, Egypt, Namibia and Pakistan.
Al Dahra is essentially the official partner of the Abu Dhabi government in achieving the government’s long-term food security vision. Furthermore, Al Dahra is a leading company in the production and distribution of high quality agricultural products and, more specifically, it produces products that include wheat, rice, alfalfa, vegetables and citrus. In 2012, Al Dahra cultivated 150,000 hectares of freehold land and produced in total over 2,000,000 tonnes of products in 8 different countries.
The cooperation between Loulis Mills and Al Dahra opens new frontiers.
Specifically, in relation to Loulis Mills:
- It directly links the company with primary grain production, which to a large extent ensures qualitative stability and the quantitative adequacy of raw materials;
- It closely links the company with Arab countries that have a large population increase and are predominantly flour importers. These countries can now be easily supplied with flour from Al Dahra through Loulis Mills’ two modern harbour side mills; and
- This opens the way for penetration into the developing markets of Africa and Asia, which generate 85 % of the annual global population growth. Asia and Africa together grow by about 70 million people annually and are markets with huge economic development.
In relation to Al Dahra:
- It will gain access to a high-level transit hub for cereals in Europe, through the Loulis Mills harbour side facilities at Volos and Piraeus, which have a total storage capacity of 90,000 tonnes. Al Dahra will accordingly be able to forward its production from European countries (Spain and Serbia) to the Middle East;
- It will ensure the flow of flour with a guaranteed, excellent and consistent quality to Arab countries, with many of which it has long-term contracts for supplying food; and
- It will acquire the know-how for constructing cereal mills, so that it can complete the construction of high standard mills in countries where it operates, which will pave the way for dynamically entering into secondary production.
This move by the Loulis Mills management and its Chairman Mr Nikos Loulis will place Loulis Mills at the centre of development with access to four continents (Asia, Africa, America and Europe), where 97 % of the world’s inhabitants live.
Loulis Mills have now laid sound foundations for further development with two strategic alliances, by combining access to developing markets with a strong financial basis: the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank through the Good Mills Group and Al Dahra.
