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International IFPA holds a bilateral meeting with the president of FBCCI

H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, the Director General and CEO of International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) held a meeting with the President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (“FBCCI”), Md. Jashim Uddin. Both organisations also had other senior personnel in attendance including the IFPA Business Development Department and the Senior Executive of FBCCI, Ms. Nazia Hasan Khondaker.

FBCCI was established in 1973 and brings together about 80 Chambers of Commerce and 400 Trade Associations. Currently, it is the major trade organization of Bangladesh that represents the interest of private entrepreneurs. The key objectives of the FBCCI are to aid and stimulate investment, development of trade, commerce, industry, agriculture, and other priority sectors of the economy; promote the common interest of its membership through dealings with the Government and other regulatory bodies; and provide consultative and advisory services in the formulation of commercial, industrial and fiscal policies at the national level.

The parties discussed opportunities for business cooperation between IFPA and FBCCI as well as at country level between Bangladesh and the OIC countries in the CIS region in agri-food trade and investment through the platform of IFPA. The President of FBCCI, Md. Jashim Uddin mentioned that “such meetings help to identify bilateral partnership opportunities through trade exports and investments to diversify the portfolio of assets suitable for Bangladeshi and OIC markets. I welcome this important initiative for FBCCI to become an Honorary Member and to join personally the Advisory Board of IFPA. We are very keen to introduce IFPA to key agri-food exporters and enterprises of Bangladesh to become Corporate Members as well as join upcoming and future business delegations to Halal Expo, Dubai Expo and other main international events of intra-OIC countries.”

The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E Sheikh Bilal Khan, remarked: “this is an important initiative for collaboration on activities and projects in supporting agri-food trade and investors via the FBCCI for the Bangladesh market which has a potentially huge pipeline of agri-exporters and investment projects. The joint efforts of IFPA and the FBCCI will promote all relevant agri-food projects of Bangladesh to the OIC member states and foster profitability of enterprises as well as expansion of cooperation between businesses and food companies of intra-OIC countries. We are looking forward to working closely with FBCCI as a valuable Honorary Member and warmly welcome Bangladeshi food exporters and businesses to join our platform as Corporate Members. Over the last two decades Bangladesh has made giant strides and remarkably placed itself on the global map for business, entrepreneurship and highly-talented human capital. The contribution to GDP from agriculture is rapidly increasing and there is truly immense potential. We discussed many issues of mutual interest and agreed to execute our joint initiatives in the very near future.”

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International IFPA signs an agreement with Jarvis Products Eurasia in the meat and poultry production sector

International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) held a bilateral meeting with the Director General of the Jarvis Products Eurasia (“Jarvis”), Mr.Syed Waqar Ahmad. The parent organisation Jarvis Products Corporation headquartered in Middletown, USA has been operating for approximately 100 years, primarily engaged in the meat, poultry, and seafood processing machinery. Jarvis as a subsidiary body specializes in slaughtering equipment for meat and poultry products.
 
During the meeting, parties discussed the importance of meat and poultry processing equipment for the Halal meat industry such as cutting and boning devices, band saws, carcass opening, and splitting saws, hock cutters, and skinning machines that represent significant cross-border standards and costs in production operations. These standards and costs can challenge an enterprise’s Halal benchmarking as well as cash flow, but properly managing them can help to optimize Halal meat and poultry production especially considering the rising demand for the quality of Halal meat and poultry products.
 
Director General of Jarvis Mr. Syed Waqar Ahmad noted that: “Jarvis as a leading innovator of new power tools utilizing the latest safety features adheres to the outstanding quality products and innovative solutions. We aim to expand efforts with IFPA in agri-food technologies to become the first source of Halal meat and poultry equipment and promote widely into the OIC markets”.
 
The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E Sheikh Bilal Khan remarked that: “IFPA is very pleased to welcome Jarvis as one of its key corporate members, and through our effective coordination and collaboration including assisting with opening an office in Kazakhstan at the Astana International Financial Centre (“AIFC”), we will help to expand cooperation between OIC businesses and food companies to facilitate Halal and safe meat and poultry standards in every segment of production and processing as well as increasing profitability of both SMEs and large-scale enterprises and ensure access to the Halal meat markets of OIC countries. This is another absolutely critical programme of our parent entity, the Islamic Organization for Food Security (“IOFS”) under the leadership of H.E. Mr. Yerlan Baidaulet, the Chair of IFPA Board and DG of IOFS, and we aim to additionally work closely with The Standards and Metrology Institute for the Islamic Countries (“SMIIC”) to provide an end-to-end one-stop-shop OIC-wide harmonised and seamless approach.”
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International IFPA participates in the biggest agricultural exhibition «KazAgro/KazFarm-2021»

International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) participates in one of the leading exhibitions in the field of the food industry and agricultural equipment “KazAgro / KazFarm-2021”. The event was held with the official support of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan that was attended by more than 1000 delegates-participants from 30 countries on the 14000m2 of exhibition space and was dedicated to animal husbandry, poultry farming and feeding, fruit cultivation and vegetable growing, processing and storage of grain, agricultural machinery and equipment, agrarian science and innovation, and investment projects in the agro-industrial complex.

The success of the exhibition is due to not only the organizational expertise but also the locality: Kazakhstan is located at the crossroads of two continents – Europe and Asia, at the center of the Eurasian continent, therefore it is able to attract exhibitors from both continents and also promote widely into the OIC markets.  The exhibition is an effective platform for the stakeholders of the agricultural sector to meet each other, host animal and machine tool trade shows, hold conferences, and B2B meetings in order to share advanced developments in the agricultural sector and exchange experiences, best agricultural technologies, equipment, and all allied industries on one platform.

IFPA under the leadership of the Director General and CEO, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, was represented by its delegation who provided exhibitors and visitors an overview of the key value proposition of IFPA, special services for agri-food exporters and for attracting Islamic investments and financing with penetration into 57 OIC markets.

Director General and CEO, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, delivered a keynote address at the conference organised by the Meat Union of Kazakhstan and also later gave several interviews to leading national TV channels and media outlets where he noted that: “such events help us identify areas of opportunity and growth partnership for trade exports and investments to develop new products and/or innovate production processes for better response to OIC market demand. IFPA is aiming to research opportunities and challenges of the OIC agri-food sector to provide sustainable solutions by virtue of Islamic finance, investment funds, and other Islamic investment instruments which will allow importers, exporters, and other ecosystem entities of agri-food markets to directly cooperate with each other and grow the competitiveness of the intra-OIC agri-food trade and the national GDP contribution of each OIC country from this growing sector.”

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International IFPA and Nur Tobe LLP discuss future cooperation

International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) and Nur Tobe Limited Liability Partnership (“Nur Tobe”) agreed to develop cooperation in the sphere of food processing sector.

Nur Tobe is a diversified and multi-project enterprise that incorporates flax-seed oil production, pasta producing plants, bakery manufacturing and possesses approximately 30,000 hectares of agricultural land. It cultivates durum species of wheat commonly used in pasta production which typically are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall, as it is well adapted to the hot and dry conditions surrounding the northern Kazakhstan region where it’s manufactures reside. Nur Tobe aims to apply conventional pressing of flaxseed, which is a simple and low-cost producing process and can obtain higher income with lower investment.

Director of Nur-Tobe, Mr. Timur Bergaliyev during the meeting noted that: “We are committed to continuous innovation and improvement practices in the oilseed, pasta, and bakery production sector to increase sustainability, productivity, and product quality and aim to work very closely with IFPA in its value-added services. Support measures from IFPA’s pool of investors will facilitate this industry development with subsidies to reimburse part of the costs for production.”

The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan welcomed satisfaction towards this new impetus given to cooperation and noted that: “close business cooperation between IFPA and Nur Tobe in agri-food trade and investment through the platform of IFPA focusing primarily on the use of Islamic finance, investment funds, Shariah structuring, Sukuk listing, and other Islamic investment instruments will develop the much-needed infrastructure, technology, storage and distribution facilities, thereby catapulting new export opportunities of value-added secondary and tertiary processed food products for entities such as Nur Tobe and others in the sector.”

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International IFPA and Iman Investment Company discuss cooperation in the electronic trading finance platform

International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) and Iman Investment Company (“Iman”) agreed to develop cooperation in the sphere of digitial Islamic trade finance. Iman is one of the major Islamic electronic trading platforms of Uzbekistan that was established to aid the practices and lifestyle of the community and manage their finances with a service that is fast, secure, intuitive and seamless.

During the online meeting Сhief Financial Officer of Iman Mr. Marc Zubov mentioned that: “the Central Asian region has been becoming one of the fastest-growing emerging markets demographically, economically, and digitally, with continuous improvements in digital connectivity and technology readiness, and the demand for digital services is starting to take hold. Facilitating online trade transactions improves efficiency across the entire trade cycle. By embracing technology through e-platforms, we can ensure greater visibility, transparency, accountability and control in the trade of strategic commodities. Iman is very keen to cooperate with IFPA to enhance connections and strategic partnerships in OIC member countries to capitalize on the digitalization of global Islamic trade.”

The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, remarked: “Central Asia with its strategically advantageous location has immense potential for economic development. Trade in agricultural goods offers a great opportunity for export to both regional and international markets. IFPA is ready to cooperate with Iman to develop Shariah-compliant digital solutions and the Islamic financial products allow intra-OIC entrepreneurs and financial institutions to use customer-first approach and streamlined services of its epic best-of-breed technologies.”

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International IFPA held and TechnoLeasing company discussed future cooperation

International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) and Limited Liability Partnership TechnoLeasing (“TechnoLeasing”) had a bilateral meeting to discuss prospects of cooperation.

TechnoLeasing was established in 2010, and currently, it is a full-fledged player in the local equipment leasing market. According to the Committee on Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in 2019 the company was leading among private companies with leasing portfolio.

During the meeting, parties discussed the importance of machinery and production equipment that represent major cost in crop production operations. These costs can challenge an enterprise’s cash flow, but properly managing them can help agri-producers effectively and efficiently recapture gross margin. Managing Director of TechnoLeasing Mr. Dmitry Kogai noted that: “through finance leasing of farm equipment, TechnoLeasing purchases the assets and rents them out to companies over an agreed term with monthly repayments. Whether it is a milking parlour, growing crops, or breed livestock, we offer from basic tractor financing to more specialist equipment like combine harvesters or milking machines. The cooperation with IFPA is important for us, as we are striving to enhance connections and strategic partnerships to facilitate agricultural leasing using Islamic leasing instruments such as Ijara and related models through the engagement of agricultural service organizations of intra-OIC countries.”

The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E Sheikh Bilal Khan, remarked: ”IFPA is ready to expand its cooperation with TechnoLeasing for developing investment projects in agricultural leasing through offering various private sector options for improving agricultural mechanization related to the use of Islamic finance especially Ijara-based models, Islamic investment agency and leasing funds, Shariah structuring, and other Islamic investment and financing instruments to foster profitability of micro, SME and large-scale enterprises as well as expanding wider cooperation between all ecosystem businesses and agri-food companies across the OIC and IOFS markets.”

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International IFPA and Uzbekistan Investment Promotion Agency agreed to develop cooperation in agri-food sector

International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan (“Agency”) held a bilateral meeting to discuss future cooperation.

Established in 2019 by the decree of the President as a subordinate body of the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Agency aims to promote sustainable socio-economic development by attracting foreign investment in priority sectors of the economy and acts as a representative of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan in discussing and implementing investment projects.

Mr. Ulugbek Abruev, first Deputy Director of the Agency, conducted a comprehensive and informative presentation about strategic tasks and directions of the Agency, and he especially noted that: “as the primary interface to attract and facilitate investments, the Agency strives to develop cooperation with IFPA to enhance connections and strategic partnerships in the investment of the wider food supply chain and further development of export markets between businesses and food companies of intra-OIC countries for the benefit of Uzbekistan.”

The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E Sheikh Bilal Khan, remarked: “I welcome this important initiative for collaboration on activities and projects in supporting agri-food investors via the Agency for the Uzbek market which has a potentially huge pipeline of investment projects where IFPA can add value through its OIC-wide network for Shariah structuring, Sukuk listing, Islamic investment funds and other Islamic instruments. The joint efforts of IFPA and the Agency will promote all relevant agri-food projects of Uzbekistan vis-à-vis the OIC member states and thus increase the intra-OIC trade competitiveness.”