Tanmiah Food Company, one of the established market leaders in the provision of poultry and other meat products, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with MHP, the leading European producer of poultry. The agreement is the first step in establishing a joint venture between Tanmiah's wholly owned subsidiary, Desert Hills for Veterinary Services Company, and MHP SE (LSE: MHPC, MHP), the parent company of the leading international food and agrotech group headquartered in Ukraine.

Supported by the government of Saudi Arabia and in line with the food security goals of Saudi Vision 2030, the memorandum sets out the principles of establishing a joint venture to accelerate efforts to close the existing production gap in KSA's domestic poultry sector.

The joint venture's primary focus will be developing and operating poultry breeding facilities and includes the establishment of a greenfield hatchery in Saudi Arabia to hatch 108 million hatching eggs per annum. It will also invest in feed milling facilities with the target of producing 137 thousand tonnes of feed per annum.

The initiatives will be primarily funded by the Agriculture Development Fund of Saudi Arabia. MHP is set to provide a wide spectrum of industry expertise across the value chain to capture long-term opportunities and design best-in-class facilities fully adapted to local market conditions.

The establishment of the joint venture company remains subject to necessary regulatory approvals, including clearance by the General Authority for the Competition of Saudi Arabia and other applicable authorizations.

Zulfiqar Hamadani, chief executive officer, Tanmiah, said, "The new partnership with MHP is yet another important step, demonstrating our resolve to contribute towards KSA's poultry self-sufficiency whilst reinforcing our pioneering role in supporting the Kingdom's food security and self-sufficiency objectives. In addition, as Europe's largest poultry producer, MHP brings a wealth of industry expertise that will advance Tanmiah's production capabilities and efficiencies whilst enhancing our sustainability agenda."

John Rich, MHP SE executive chairman, added, "This memorandum represents an important milestone in MHP's international strategy. I am confident that Tanmiah's excellent operational track record in combination with MHP's industry-leading poultry expertise can bring transformational results to the Kingdom on its way to achieving the food security goals of 2030 Vision. The steady deepening of the relationship between MHP and Saudi Arabia is an important part of our long-term commitment to the region and we continue to seek opportunities to make the best use of our expertise to improve food security around the globe. The agreement also brings closer together the people of Saudi Arabia and Ukraine."

Tanmiah is on track to achieving its ambitious growth plans, which include expanding its production capacity for fresh poultry and further processed products and developing new and innovative products and services that cater to the changing demands of domestic and international consumers.

Ahmed Bin Sharaf Osilan, executive board member and managing director, Tanmiah, commented, "Our feed and animal health segment has been delivering solid results over the past few quarters, and we have ambitious plans to expand this business further and generate sustainable long-term value to all our stakeholders, including our shareholders. The material investments into this joint venture will result in an expansion of our overall capacity whilst supporting local job creation and delivering on the Kingdom's strategic vision for our sector."

The signing ceremony was held in Riyadh at the offices of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture on February 16, 2023. Representatives from the Ministries of Investment, and Commerce, of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Food and Drug Authority, the Agricultural Development Fund, and Saudi Investment Recycling Company also attended this event.