On the first day of the official visit to Saudi Arabia, the delegation led by Minister Florin-Ionuț BARBU, along with State Secretary Sorin MOISE, visited the headquarters of Almarai, one of the largest and most important companies in the Middle East.

The company owns dairy farms as well as processing units where a variety of products, including dairy, juices, and pastries, are produced.

Almarai's dairy products are made from high-quality milk sourced from several production units, with a total of 195,000 cows. These benefit from advanced nutrition and superior care to ensure optimal quality.

Almarai began producing fresh milk as early as 1977, with a herd of just 350 cows. Currently, the company produces 1.5 billion liters of milk per year, making it the largest vertically integrated dairy company in the world.

The visit began at the dairy farm, where the Romanian delegation saw how the animals are raised and fed.

For their feed, Almarai produces the fodder on its own farms in several countries, the largest of which are in Argentina and the USA. Currently, Almarai farms produce 4 million liters of milk per day, averaging 42 liters per cow per day, approximately double the European average.

After visiting the farm, Minister Florin-Ionuț Barbu and the delegation went to the processing plant, where they saw the production lines and discussed various topics, including poultry farming, a developing area at Almarai through significant investments.

The minister stated that in Romania, the self-sufficiency rate in this sector is 160% and that there are highly efficient farms producing chickens fed with high-quality feed (90% corn), and that the capacity is expected to increase by another 100 million heads in the near future.

The Saudi side expressed interest in poultry production in Romania, and Minister Florin-Ionuț BARBU stated that he would share the experiences from these days with relevant associations in our country so that interested parties could engage in dialogue.

The company visited today by the MADR delegation encourages consumers to visit its agricultural and industrial units to familiarize themselves with modern technologies in the production stages, as part of its social responsibility commitment. (Photo: MADR)