Abu Dhabi’s F&B major Agthia seeks food deals in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

Dubai: Abu Dhabi food giant Agthia Group is pursuing a strategy to grow through acquisitions and investment in its F&B business as its CEO sees continued economic growth.

“We expect to see our growth coming from the consumer business,” Agthia CEO Alan Smith said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We’re going to continue to look for the right opportunities” for acquisitions with a focus on Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he said.

Global food suppliers seeking a post-pandemic recovery are facing higher commodity and shipping costs, forcing them to raise prices or narrow margins. Commodities surged in the first half of the year on booming demand, fueled by trillions of dollars in government stimulus. That’s feeding concern that rising inflation may crimp consumer spending.

Agthia’s Smith said he’s cautiously optimistic on the global economy. While freight rates are set to remain high for the next 18 months, Smith said doesn’t expect them to rise further.