Financial evaluation of date drying and packaging projects in the New Valley Governorate

The New Valley Governorate is considered one of the most important desert governorates for date production, with its date production reaching approximately 428 tons. This represents about 31.4% of the total national production, which reached approximately 1,364 tons in 2024. The research problem lies in the fact that, despite the added value that drying and processing add, in addition to reducing marketing and production losses and enhancing competitiveness in local and international markets, there are economic and regulatory challenges facing dried date production in the governorate. The study relied on primary data collected through a questionnaire. A sample of 40 individuals was drawn using random sampling based on the relative importance of each center to the number of projects. All centers in the governorate were selected to represent the study population. The total costs of the establishment were found to be approximately 8.8 million Egyptian pounds. Variable costs represented about 92.6% of the total costs, constituting a very large percentage. This indicates that costs are directly related to the volume of production; any increase in production will lead to an increase in these costs. Fixed costs represented about 7.4% of the total costs. Total revenue reached approximately 24 million Egyptian pounds, and net income was 15.3 million Egyptian pounds. The profitability index was 2.74, representing the return on every pound spent on production. The break-even point for the date factories in the New Valley Governorate was found to be approximately 0.04 tons, and the break-even price was calculated to be 21,000 Egyptian pounds. The production safety margin was found to be 65.4%, and the contribution threshold was approximately 15.7 million Egyptian pounds, and it turned out that every pound invested in the project yielded a return of 1.74 piasters per pound annually.