JEDDAH, 15 June 2003 — The Middle East’s largest seed oil factory, with an annual capacity of more than 700,000 tons of soy bean oil, will soon be established in Yanbu.
Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, chairman of Asr Al-Budoor Company, said the factory would help the country to save SR1 billion over the next 20 years. Speaking to Arab News, Faqeeh, a leading Makkah businessman, said the new factory would also produce oil from other seeds such as sesame and sunflower. Work on the project will start within four months.
“It will take about two years to complete,” Faqeeh said.
The factory will be established on a 900,000 square-meter area at King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu.
The factory will produce high protein soybean meal with an annual capacity of 520,000 tons, soybean oil, 120,000 tons annually, soybean hulls, 14.5 million tons, and lecithin, 3,000 tons, in addition to soy milk and soy sauce.
“There will be a six-month experimental operation before starting regular production at a capacity of 2,200 tons daily of soybeans alone,” he said. Faqeeh said Asr Al-Budoor, a closed joint stock company, was a project established as part of the government’s efforts to ensure food security.
The Yanbu factory will also supply fodder to poultry and cattle farms. He said the company’s board of directors had already approved executive measures to implement the factory, which is expected to increase the number of poultry and cattle farms in the country.
Soybeans are first place among seeds in the world in terms of consumption and trade. They contain a high level of protein (33 to 47 percent), oil (15 to 20 percent) and potassium and calcium (25 to 37 percent).
