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CANADA, HEAD OFFICE OPERATIONS
The Canadian office acts as the company's head office for all Bissma's operations as well as sourcing and exporting of Canadian agricultural products with particular emphasis on pulses.
Today, we export Canadian pulses to Europe, North Africa, The Middle East, as well as China, India and Pakistan. We are very happy to be in Canada, now the world's largest exporter of pulses. This represents a tremendous potential for growth. We have now regained our bases in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea and intend to re establish our base in Sudan as soon as possible.
Announcing the Winnipeg Office
CHINA OPERATIONS
Our first transaction with China dates back to the sixties when we exported Ethiopian sesame seeds to the Chinese market. Later in early eighties Chinese sesame seed production and prices became more competitive than African sesame seeds and Japan, the world's largest importer of sesame seeds, shifted most of their purchases to China. In 1983 Sudanese sesame seeds began losing considerable market share worldwide to Chinese origin. It was at that point that we decided to focus on China and make it one of our primary supply sources. In 1985 we were one of the first to ship Chinese lentils, and later other kinds of kidney beans, to Europe. Our trade grew steadily and in 1988 we opened an office in Hong Kong. A second office, located in the city of Tianjin, followed in 1991. When we first started business with China, trading was restricted to a few large coastal national companies. It was later opened with the inner province companies and we developed relations with all the major provinces. After that, trade was opened to private companies as well. By 1998 we became the largest buyer of edible broad beans and were one of the biggest pulse shippers. China represents a very large part of our trade activity, which is why the word '' Pacific'' is in our name. China has undergone tremendous changes since 1983, and we have been fortunate to witness these changes and evolve our business accordingly.
We started our trading activities with China in 1982. We have a team of 6 people in our office in Tianjin under the direction of Ms Wong Shan. Our highly experienced team monitors crop production, logistics, local prices, quality and all aspects relevant to the smooth functioning of export or import of agricultural commodities. Through our China office we have an extensive network of suppliers at all levels from local, to provincial, to national. Our quality team is very meticulous in their work and very well known in the industry for their integrity. Once a contract is made our team monitor the movement of goods from the origin to the port and take steps to anticipate potential obstacles before they become problems. Our team is also involved in assisting with exports of agricultural commodities to the Chinese market such as oilseeds as well as other pulses. By maintaining good local knowledge of the domestic market we can anticipate potential requirements. With more than 20 years experience in the China trade and an active office in one of China's busiest ports we provide a good and reliable service to our clients worldwide.
View our products from China
View our Bissma Beans Brands
EGYPT OPERATIONS
Operations in Egypt date back to 1883 when Mr. Bissada Makarious founded a retail textiles operation in a village called Nagada located near the ancient city of Luxour. In 1940, Gaddis and Giryagos Bissada opened Gaddis Bissada and Partners in Cairo where they started distributing Egyptian lentils. This Cairo office later laid the foundation for pulse imports from Ethiopia in 1949. From 1949 to 1956 our Cairo office imported and distributed pulses to the famous '' Rod El Farag'' pulse center and to important cities in the Nile delta. After 1956 the socialist philosophy dominated the economy and as a result, many private enterprises were nationalized by the government. Several state owned companies were formed and they imported pulses, grains, and other commodities for sale to a sole distributing government owned entity which subsidized prices and distributed pulses nationwide. Hence the role of private enterprise in pulse imports ended. Despite the setback, we continued to export Ethiopian pulses to state owned enterprises and maintained a leading market from 1957 until 1978. After 1978, major problems in the country halted the Ethiopian pulse exports and activities in Egypt became limited to ceramic imports and real estate. In the late eighties the government changed its economic policy and private companies started to return to pulse imports and trading. We resumed pulse trading to Egypt first from China and later from England, Poland, Australia, Canada, and Ethiopia.
In 1988 our modern day office was opened in the same building we built in 1952 where Mr. Gaddis Bissada oversaw the distribution and import of pulses from 1949 to 1957. In 2001 our Cairo office became a regional office designed to oversee activities in East Africa and the Middle East. Our team in Egypt have an intricate knowledge of the import and distribution channel for pulses and other crops. We have maintained good relationships with major importers, as well as, second and third level distribution channels. Our current Manager, Mr. Murad Risk was formerly General Manager of the Egypt Plant and Quarantine Office in the airport and has an extensive knowledge of all the regulations pertaining to import and export of agricultural commodities. Our Trading Manager, Mr. Hany Abdelsayed completed training in our Canadian Head office after graduating from the American University of Cairo in Economics and Management. Today we are very active in Egypt in pulses where we trade on average about 60,00 tons a year. Our presence in Egypt has been felt for over a century and through it all we've witnessed tremendous changes. Bissma looks forward to continued growth and success in Egypt in the next 100 years.
View our products from Egypt
U.K. OPERATIONS
This is a new operation set up in 2003 to be our sales center for the European market and assist with export of UK Pulses. It is managed by Mr. Peter Goodeve who has over 25 years experience in the commodity trade.
View our products from the U.K.
EAST AFRICAN OPERATIONS
Our operations in East Africa date back to 1919 ( Sudan) 1942 (Eritrea) and 1943 (Ethiopia). Our trade name at that time was Bissada and Sons in Sudan and Giryagos Bissada, import/Export in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Our office in Asmara, Eritrea is in the same location since 1948 and our team there has over 30 years experience. We were one of the first exporters of Ethiopian Produce and the first exporters of pulses. Ethiopia is rich in agricultural production and is an exporter of grains, oilseeds, pulses, spices and natural gums. Sudan is well know exporter of oilseeds especially sesame seeds, ground nuts, Hibiscus flowers and natural gums. Today we have offices in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan. Our Cairo office assists with some of the operations from Sudan.
Today we are pleased to see agricultural production in Ethiopia steadily increasing. The most recent border between Ethiopia and Eritrea which ended this year interrupted the natural flow of business between these two countries. We hope after the ending of the recent war, prosperity can return to this region. Sudan has always been a big exporter of oilseeds, sesame seeds and groundnuts in particular, natural gums such as Gum Arabic and Gum Olibanum. We are committed to increasing our presence in East Africa over the coming years and currently have plans to do so. Today we are active shippers from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan, and with over 60 years of active trading , we bring a unique perspective and depth of experience from these 3 countries.
View our products from Ethiopia
View our products from Eritrea
View our products from Sudan.
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