EVALUATION FOR DRYING UNITS AND PACKING DATES IN SIWA OASIS

ABSTRACT   The date industry in Egypt in general and in Siwa Oasis in particular has an important economic position in the food industries sector, where the value of manufactured products amounted to about 41.5 billion pounds, representing about 15.7% of the total value of production of food industries to about 263.8 billion pounds during 2017.   The research aims to   In general, the research aims to identify the feasibility of investing in the activities of the units and drying and filling dates in Siwa Oasis by studying the criteria of financial and economic evaluation of these projects to identify the financial and economic feasibility.   The results showed drying units and packing date is the small capacity, and the large capacity in Siwa Oasis is as follows   - The possibility of expanding the establishment of drying units and packing dates in the small and large capacity for Siwa Oasis, where 160 workers on average, while the average wage per day for the worker about 345 pounds, 295.5 pounds respectively during the season 2018/ 2019. - The average value of Net Present Value worth was 12.99 million pound, 29.94 million pound respectively, accordinat to the Internal Rate of Return, it reached about 55.5% and 73.5% respectively, which is intended to be higher than the opportunity cost available in the community, for capital investment of about 16.25%. - The Pay Back Period rate for these units was about 1.6 years, and the rate of Benfit to the cost indicated a value greater than the correct one for all date drying units and packing in Siwa Oasis.   Which indicates the possibility of expanding the development and establishment of date drying units and packing in Siwa Oasis according to the criteria used in the study, which emphasizes the safety of investment and efficiency of customization in the date drying units and packing to provide new employment opportunities and promote the employment of women and increase the value of agricultural production and income in the oasis, The negative effects of the research are increasing the monopoly of owners of these units and work to reduce the prices of dates and oasis and reduce the incomes of agricultural producers.    The recommendations of the research can be summarized as follows   - Training and raising the skills of those involved in the anufacturing process. - Control the export of dates, which indicates the maintenance of the reputation of the dates of the Siwa in particular, and dates in Egypt in general. - Provide financial support by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which indicates the purchase of sorting machines. - Provide financial support by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to provide the bags necessary for the process of curving, which indicates to improve the qualities of the product, which encourages the increase of exports. - Preparation of a database and information for agricultural statistics and data on drying units and packing dates and complementary industries.