Saraya Middle East Opens New Factory in Egypt

SARAYA has been collaborating with local companies since 2017 to cultivate jojoba, a versatile plant that can thrive in the harsh desert, with the goal of obtaining jojoba oil while combating the expansion of desert areas that cover over 90% of Egypt's land.

The most common trees for commodity crops in Egypt are date palms in the Nile Delta and olives in the arid lands around the oases. Dr. Nabil El Mougy, a researcher on jojoba oil, and President Saraya recognized the potential of the jojoba tree, which grows in dry areas and is resistant to salt-affected soil. In 2018, they co-founded Saraya Middle East in Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea coast in the Suez Canal Special Economic Zone (SCZone).

Jojoba oil is well-suited for natural cosmetics and industrial lubricants due to its chemical structure, similar to human sebum and whale wax. This versatile oil has been the focus of collaborative research between Osaka University and Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology for developing products such as cosmetics, fruit preservatives, insect repellents, and pharmaceuticals. Additionally, there is ongoing research on developing contrast agents for X-ray examinations using jojoba oil.

About the factory

The Saraya Middle East Factory, which opened last month, occupies 8,000 square meters (about the area of a city block), and houses manufacturing equipment capable of extracting oil from jojoba fruits. The factory will not only produce it but also manufacture and sell cosmetic ingredients obtained from it. The complex is in the Ain Sokhna district, covering over 20,000 square meters.

In 2023, SARAYA began trial production of jojoba oil through cold pressing and now it has been opened officially, albeit with some delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among SARAYA's 14 global factories, only the Egyptian facility produces jojoba oil, which is exported to the U.K. and France, as well as being used in our brand's domestic cosmetics. It will be joined by a second plant for natural-based cosmetics, and a third plant for Lakanto, our zero-calorie sugar substitute. During the second phase of construction, the remaining site will be utilized for the establishment of a factory dedicated to producing non-sterile nitrile gloves. This factory aims to primarily serve local demands as an alternative to imported gloves. 

The annual production targets for each plant are as follows: 100 tons of jojoba oil (with 90% intended for use as a cosmetic ingredient and 10% for industrial purposes), 100,000 tons of cosmetics, 50 tons of Lakanto, and 1 million boxes of non-sterile nitrile gloves.

The opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was attended by many guests, including Walid Gamal El-Din, the Chairperson of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and Hiroshi Oka, the Japanese Ambassador to Egypt. Mr. Oka flew in from Japan to attend the event, as did our President, Yusuke Saraya. 

On June 24, Ambassador Oka also visited the Prime Minister's Office with Mr. Saraya, the Chairman of Saraya, and met with Prime Minister of Egypt Dr. Mostafa Madbouly. During the meeting, Dr. Madbouly expressed his support for the establishment of SARAYA's factory and welcomed the prospect of increased Japanese investments.

During the inaugural event, President Saraya emphasized the company's commitment to fostering the greening of Egypt, enriching agriculture, and supporting the Sustainable Development Goals through jojoba cultivation and oil production.

During the visit, the guests were treated to an insightful tour of the factory, where they were given a firsthand look at the advanced machinery used in the production process, gaining a deeper insight into the manufacturing process.

We are looking forward to the future opening of the remaining factories, another step toward a prosperous collaboration between Egypt and Japan. By cultivating jojoba and producing jojoba oil, SARAYA will contribute to local business creation while working on desert greening, thereby supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).