“Through GPC, the African pulse industry will be seen by the entire globe”/
Alfa Group looks ahead to Pulses 23

Alfa Group is involved in the import and export of agricultural commodities of African origins, including green mung beans, peanuts and pigeon peas. The company is sponsoring the Faba beans, Lupins, Black-eyed and Cowpeas panel at Pulses 23. Not registered yet? You can do so here.

Where do you see growth in the pulse trade in Africa?

African agriculture export is a core and fast-growing industry because of the natural resources the continent has. There are many positive aspects, such as huge fertile lands, favourable weather and cheap labour. 

I believe in the next ten to 20 years, Africa will remain as the maximum fertile agricultural land in the world. All the other continents will need to depend on Africa's cheap and good quality agriculture commodity, especially for pulses and oilseed cargo.

How is the working trade relationship between India and Africa? What are some of the biggest opportunities that you see?

Africa-India relations have a long history and India is our main exporter from Africa, as well as being the world's biggest importer of pulses.

In India, we also see the growing demand for African pulses, which is helped by the easy import policy that India has. The logistics facilities are incredibly supportive and are very seamless for us to work with.

And what other markets do you export to?

For pulses we see growing demand in Dubai, but besides the UAE, we also export to Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and sometimes Indonesia and Philippines. We also are focused on Turkey and Egypt, especially for chickpeas.

Can you tell me about current production volumes of African pulses? 

There are various products in the pulse industry in Africa. Pigeon peas grow mostly in the East Zone from Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi and Sudan. That is roughly 600,000 tons being produced by Africa. And for green mung beans – as per my last survey report at the Indian Pulse Industries in February – it showed that Africa is growing nearly 75,000 to 325,000 tons of green mung.

For Kabuli chickpeas, or chana, Tanzania produces around 60 to 80,000 tons and there’s Ethiopia products another 60,000 tons.

Can you tell me what crops you are competing with at the moment?

Beside pigeon peas and chana, in Africa there is a small quantity of speckled beans, but this is not all over Africa – it is only in a few areas. Beside pulses, we also have a large production of oilseeds, especially sesame seeds and peanuts.

You can divide African agriculture into two sectors. One is the pulse sector, and the other is the oilseed sector. So now the oil sector – in terms of revenue – is making up a huge part.

The UAE is a big re-export hub. Can you tell me more about this and what the processes are like? 

Our head office is in the UAE, and we have ground-level operations in Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan, Benin and Togo. In the past ten to 15 years, the UAE is developing as a re-export exporter. 

There is a supportive business atmosphere here and some of the world's best infrastructure. We have access to great port facilities and, very importantly, import and export is tax-free. The currency is also very stable in in UAE and we do not see fluctuation like US dollars, which means we remain safe against currency losses. 

The UAE also has secure banks and fast-banking, which has started to attract investors to make their base in the UAE. In 2012, we started our office in the UAE and gradually made it our head office. Before this, we were only operating from Africa!

So, there are very few negatives in doing business in the UAE – the positives outweigh any negatives. 

With rising costs, the Ukraine war, and currency issues, African farmers have had a lot to deal with. How do you think they can overcome these challenges?

I have spent several years in Africa and I speak the local languages. African farmers are always hard working, and they were born to fight with uncertainty. I have seen that with my own eyes.

There is a lot of uncertainty in Africa - apart from the Ukraine war and currency problems, they have their own issues; there is malaria, high rainfall, floods and drought. But they are always trying to overcome it, because that's the nature of African farmers. 

They are always dealing with uncertainties, but nowadays things are changing very fast.  Many private companies are investing into Africa and local governments are supporting farmers, by ensuring they are getting a good price for their product. African farmers are also getting educated - Africa is not like before.

“Many private companies are investing into Africa and local governments are supporting farmers, by ensuring they are getting a good price for their product. African farmers are also getting educated - Africa is not like before.”

Do you think there is a lot of competition from other markets? 

Competition will remain everywhere in the world. But for most of the African products, we do not have direct competition with other origins. I see our African cargo quality as far different than any other origins and we have a specific buyer group for the African products.

We face little competition from Australia and Myanmar – they have their own competition, much like the different countries of Africa. We grow the same products, so we face internal competition, but not with other regions.

Can you talk me through your shipping and logistics processes?

We have different systems of procurement, processing and export according to each country. We have ground-level operations in many countries, such as Mozambique and Sudan. We have a system where we first purchase and then collect from farmers and small suppliers in the bush and remote area, where the big transport cannot go. 

We collect them by small trucks and tractors, and then push that cargo out to the village where we have our collection centre, as well as small warehouses. We send the big trucks to transport that cargo from the collection centre to our processing unit, which normally is nearby the port.

We process them, we clean them and we pack them for export ready for the destination. For the last two to three years, we used to use bulk vessels for this exportation, but otherwise we mostly use containers.

Have things gone back to normal after the Covid-19 pandemic?

The pandemic was a really difficult and hard time. But in my opinion, I don’t think there is much of an affect nowadays of the pandemic in Africa. Most of Africa has overcome any issues from Covid-19.

“The GPC aims to promote the sustainable production, consumption and the international trade of pulses. And as a part of this community, we see this as a fantastic chance to interact with people in a central place.”

Our convention is rapidly approaching. Why do you think it is important for key industry people to attend? What do you think will be some benefits from the convention?

The GPC aims to promote the sustainable production, consumption and the international trade of pulses. And as a part of this community, we see this as a fantastic chance to interact with people in a central place.

Why did your organization decide to sponsor this event?

For me, the most important thing that the GPC promotes is the pulse industry of Africa. We see this as the best opportunity to keep our industry on the world platform. Through GPC’s promotion, African pulse industries are being seen by the entire globe.