Segezha in talks to establish production, logistics hub in Egypt

ST. PETERSBURG. June 19 (Interfax) - Segezha Group , the forestry division of Russia's Sistema PJSFC , is holding negotiations on establishing a packaging production and logistics hub in Egypt for shipment of all its products to the Egyptian and other foreign markets, the company's vice president for government programs, sustainable development and forestry policy, Nikolai Ivanov told Interfax, remarking that the talks are at a preliminary stage.

"This is in the process of structuring, discussion. Today Segezha Group's president [Mikhail Shamolin] met with Egypt's industry and trade minister [Ahmed Samir Saleh] and the issue of such a logistics and production hub there was discussed. But this is a very preliminary stage of negotiations," Ivanov said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

Ivanov said the company is discussing "production of packaging foremost and, possibly, setting up a trade warehouse, a hub to sell all our products in Egypt and other countries."

"Their own market there is actually quite large and it is possible to reach all of North Africa, Persian Gulf countries," he said.

Segezha no longer has manufacturing facilities abroad. The company sold its subsidiary Segezha Packaging, with its seven paper packaging factories in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, Turkey and Romania, at the beginning of 2023.

Egypt accounted for 3% of Segezha's lumber sales in the first quarter of 2023, putting it second after China, which accounted for 91%; Russia was third with 2%.