Nasr Atyani General Manager Palestinian Food Industries Union

Dear readers of Miller Magazine, The manufacture of grain mill products includes wheat milling, frikah, maftoul and Semolina. The number of factories in this industry is 40 factories with more than 1,200 workers in which the average was around 30. The production capacity of this sector is 200,000 tons/month, with a value of 80 million dollars. The value added to the production is around 15 million dollars which present 25%. The market share for these products is 35%.

The current political situation, which often leads to border closures and lack of free movement of people and products, impedes access to markets and sources of supply. Thus food security is threatened as various participants in the supply chain are not able to function properly. The threats Israeli counter incursions into rural areas also affect the sector’s long-term growth potential. Lack of stringent inspection and certification of imported food products breeds severe competitive challenge from neighboring countries. In addition, the absence of a robust regulatory framework limits the facilitation of strong business-to-business relationships and reduces the scope of collaborative economic activities. Monopolies in the supply of basic commodities and input material prevent competition in the Palestinian agro industry, leading to higher prices of products.

Wheat milling factories still needs many efforts to be done in order to strengthen their businesses, and applying of PSI standards for reaching high quality of competitive age. Finally, there is a high competition between the Palestinian Wheat Milling industry and Wheat milling imported products.