World Food Programme’s top 10 suppliers in 2020
The top 10 suppliers accounted for 15.6% of WFP’s total procurement value and were all food, agriculture, manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics companies.
As part of Devex’s coverage of food systems, we looked into the World Food Programme — the U.N. organization whose procurement volume was the second-largest in 2020 — to identify funding trends and top suppliers. Based on the 2020 Annual Statistical Report, WFP spent almost $4 billion in 2020 — a slight increase of 9.5% compared to 2019. What’s significant, though, is that $3 billion — or 75% of its spending — was sourced from low- and middle-income countries, and nations with economies in transition. This positions WFP as the top U.N. agency in procurement value buying from countries outside of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. By sector, WFP was also the top U.N. spender in two categories: food and farming products, with $1.8 billion, and transportation and storage, with $1.3 billion. The top 10 suppliers Though WFP was the top agency procuring from LMICs, the majority of the top 10 suppliers were still European and U.S.-based companies. Overall, the top 10 suppliers accounted for 15.6% of WFP’s total procurement value. Most were longtime WFP partners, with only three new additions in 2020: Ismail Industries Ltd., Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd., and Viterra B.V. The suppliers are all food, agriculture, manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics companies, while the contracts were predominantly for supplying food and beverage products worth $463 million, and for transportation, storage, and mail services worth $111 million. 1. Michiels Fabrieken NV Headquarters: Zulte, Belgium Total procurement volume: $97.4 million In 2020, Michiels Fabrieken won contracts that ranged from several hundred thousand to over €11 million ($13 million) for the delivery of the so-called Super Cereal to countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The company has been among WFP’s top 10 suppliers since 2017, receiving a total of $290.4 million in contracts. 2. Viterra B.V. Headquarters: Rotterdam, Netherlands Total procurement volume: $82.2 million Viterra's line of work involves the processing, storage, and transportation of agricultural products. Some of its biggest contracts entailed the delivery of whole red lentils to Syria for $4.8 million and wheat to Sudan for $9.5 million. The company has also supplied WFP in the past for contracts in Iraq, Haiti, and Kenya. 3. Geodis USA Headquarters: Tennessee, United States Total procurement volume: $65.6 million Geodis, a logistics company that has won a total of $198.6 million from WFP since 2017. The company won its largest total contract value in 2020. All of the company’s contracts were for transport, storage, and mail services. 4. Nutriset Headquarters: Malaunay, France Total procurement volume: $65 million Nutriset delivered nutrient supplements and ready-to-use supplementary food to African and Asian countries through contracts that ranged from several hundred thousands to a little over €11 million. Between 2017 and 2020, it won a total of $218.2 million. The company also supplied $273,200 worth of pharmaceuticals, contraceptives, and vaccines to the World Health Organization in 2016 and 2018. 5. ADM Romania Headquarters: Bucharest, Romania Total procurement volume: $54.6 million One of ADM Romania’s biggest contracts in 2020 worth $19.5 million for Djibouti in 2020. The agricultural processing company has worked with WFP for the delivery of cereal grains such as wheat and barley — winning a total of $153.7 million for contracts awarded from 2017 to 2020. 6. Memisoglu Tarim Urunleri Ticaret Ltd. Sti. Headquarters: Mersin, Turkey Total procurement value in 2020: $48.4 million Memisoglu Tarim Urunleri Ticaret Ltd. Sti., or Tat Company, won its biggest contract — valued at $48.3 million — in 2020, which accounted for ready-to-eat rations and agricultural products. The Turkish food manufacturing company has been supplying WFP with food and beverage products, along with transportation and storage services — mainly in North Africa and the Middle East — from 2018 to 2020. 7. Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd. Headquarters: Hangzhou, China Total procurement value in 2020: $44.9 million Cainiao, a Chinese logistics company and a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, won a $44.9 million contract in 2020 for transportation, storage, and mail services to support the global humanitarian hub launched by WFP to aid the fight against COVID-19. 8. Ismail Industries Ltd. Headquarters: Karachi, Pakistan Total procurement value in 2020: $42.4 million As a food and confectionery manufacturer and exporter, Ismail Industries Ltd. won contracts amounting to $42.2 million for food and beverage products in 2020. One of the awards amounts to almost $12 million for procurement of ready-to-use supplementary food in Syria, Ethiopia, and Yemen. Aside from IIL’s partnership with WFP since 2017, it also has contracts with UNICEF for medical equipment. 9. Bashan Tarimsal Urunleri A.S Headquarters: Mersin, Turkey Total procurement value in 2020: $40.3 million One of Bashan’s largest awards in 2020 was for the procurement of rations for Syria, worth $4.9 million. The Turkish food manufacturing company has been a partner of WFP since 2017, winning a total of $195 million worth of contracts for food and beverage products, 20% of which was won in 2020. 10. Wilmar Trading PTE Ltd. Headquarters: Singapore City, Singapore Total procurement value in 2020: $32.5 million An agribusiness supplier, Wilmar won a total of $32.5 million in 2020, of which one of the biggest contracts awarded was $7.2 million for the procurement of palm oil for Kenya, Togo, Djibouti, and Tanzania. It has been one of WFP’s top partners since 2017 — except one in 2019 — winning nearly $170 million worth of contracts for food and beverages, mainly for Afghanistan, Kenya, and South Africa. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free 5-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.
As part of Devex’s coverage of food systems, we looked into the World Food Programme — the U.N. organization whose procurement volume was the second-largest in 2020 — to identify funding trends and top suppliers.
Based on the 2020 Annual Statistical Report, WFP spent almost $4 billion in 2020 — a slight increase of 9.5% compared to 2019. What’s significant, though, is that $3 billion — or 75% of its spending — was sourced from low- and middle-income countries, and nations with economies in transition.
This positions WFP as the top U.N. agency in procurement value buying from countries outside of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. By sector, WFP was also the top U.N. spender in two categories: food and farming products, with $1.8 billion, and transportation and storage, with $1.3 billion.
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Miguel Tamonan is a Senior Development Analyst at Devex, where he analyzes data from public and private donors to produce content and special reports for Pro and Pro Funding readers. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a Major in International Relations from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Janadale Leene Coralde works as a contributing analyst for Devex. Based in Manila she reports on development donors activities and designs funding data visualisations. She has a degree in political economy, specializing in international relations and development, and has previously worked as a researcher for Chemonics, the REID foundation, and the Philippines House of Representatives.
