Mars Wrigley Confectionery sees Egypt becoming its production hub for the MENA region in the near future, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for the AMEA region David Kiu said at a roundtable we attended yesterday. He added that the recently inaugurated EGP 750 mn production lines at its 6 October City factory will surpass its facility in Saudi Arabia as the MENA region’s largest once it becomes fully operational in 2019. However, Mars is looking to the government to cut red tape, including streamlining the customs process, which Middle East and Africa General Manager Duncan McCulloch identified as the company’s “main challenge.” Separately, the company is working to source 100% of its packaging material from Egypt by year’s end and is also planning to increase its dependence on locally sourced raw materials, including cocoa and sugar, according to Vice President of Supply Pascal Bouye. The company had announced on Tuesday that it would double its investments in Egypt to EGP 2 bn this year.