Business news

MINSK, 24 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian mechanical engineering company Amkodor intends to ship over $750,000 worth of vehicles and machines to Egypt in 2018, BelTA learned from Leonid Pinchuk, Head of Amkodor's CIS and Non-CIS Sales Office.

Amkodor has been present on the African continent for several years already. The company got the momentum in the Egyptian market thanks to last year's visit of the Belarusian president to this country. “We signed a dealership contract with one of the companies and shipped the first five units to the amount of $250,000. This year we are expanding our presence in Egypt. We have two dealerships already. We supply loaders of various modifications, road-building and construction machines. The equipment will be delivered this year, with the exception of one unit, which is being developed specifically for the customer. This is a special modification of the machine that we have not made before but have necessary expertise in designing it. It will be supplied early in 2019,” Leonid Pinchuk noted.

Amkodor Director General Valery Ivankovich stressed that the Egyptian market is of great interest to the company. “It is a rapidly developing country where much attention is paid to the development of agriculture and industry. We are very interested in this market and ready to look for compromises to get into the price parameters to make sure customers will give preference to our vehicles and machines. The Embassy of Belarus in Egypt provides us great assistance. I think we will be gaining foothold in that market,” Valery Ivankovich noted.

Amkodor has developed a five-year plan of its product advancement to Egypt. “We need a new level of cooperation with a prospect of setting up assembly plants in Egypt. We have a year to analyze different aspects of cooperation and financing. Besides, we need to assess the partner’s readiness to develop cooperation,” Valery Ivankovich said.

Mostafa Hadhod, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Egyptian Company for Agricultural and Rural Development, praised the quality of Belarusian machinery. “I hope that we will be able to become a promising dealer in the Egyptian market. This will also depend on the development of cooperation between our company and Amkodor. The equipment of the Belarusian company has many rivals in the Egyptian market. This factor should be taken into account, first of all, in terms of pricing. We discussed with Amkodor the setting up of service centers. We would also like to set up joint assembly plants in Egypt,” he said.

Mostafa Hadhod noted that the Belarusian special-purpose machinery has a good chance of gaining footing on the Egyptian market. “Our president plans to develop about 4 million feddans (1 feddan is 0.42 hectares) through 2030. So, there is an excellent opportunity for deliveries of Amkodor agricultural, road-building machinery and grain dryers,” he said.

During the visit to Minsk the Egyptian delegation got familiar with the Amkodor lineup.

The industrial group Amkodor comprises 29 enterprises, including 19 factories that make over 120 models and modifications of machines and vehicles for agribusiness, road construction, utilities industry, forestry industry, production sector, and logistics.